A Gymnastics Legacy
by lda-cullen
Summary: *Sequel to His Life* Can Alex live up to the Belov name or will he be as stubborn as his father once was? Can Annabelle make her own path or will she follow in her parents' footsteps?
1. Introducing Alexander

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Make It Or Break it. All property belongs to ABC Family. The only thing I own is the children Sasha and Payson have. Unfortunately I own neither Sasha or Payson, if I did a couple of things on the show would be different. So please read and review. **

**AN: This is the first chapter of my sequel to His Life. I thought why not tell a story of Payson and Sasha's kids when they are teenagers. If you haven't read His Life that's okay. You don't need to read it to understand this story, but I strongly recommend stopping by and reading it. Please let me know what you think. **

It was pouring down rain over the city of Boulder, Colorado. Boulder was a small town that was known for its elite gymnastics training facility. The town's fame and glory came when the legendary, four time gold medalist, Sasha Belov began coaching gymnasts there. When Sasha Belov walked into the gym, no one knew what would happen in the years to come. Trials, obstacles, and whispered scandals were known to have happened in that gym during his tenure there. No one spoke of the scandals or rumors. It was something the owner of the gym wasn't exactly proud of. Although some people were happy the events unfolded the way they did. Alexander was one of those people who were happy the events happened the way they did. If things had happened differently, then he may not even exist because Alexander is none other than Sasha and Payson Belov's oldest son.

Alexander also known as Alex, is a sixteen year old replica of his father. The only thing he got from his mother in looks was her beautiful dark blue eyes. Everything else he inherited from his father, including his arrogant and cocky attitude. He took more after his mother in gymnastics. He was just as dedicated, if not more so, than Payson was. He had many medals to prove it. Many people in town and at the gym assumed that the talent of gymnastics came naturally because of his parentage. How wrong they were. Sasha and Payson's son, had to work harder than ever to be the athlete he wanted to be, because it did not come naturally to him. The only thing concerning gymnastics that Alex got from his parents was the love and passion for it, even though he wouldn't admit it.

He had a lot to live up to in gymnastics world and at home. Alex knows his mom and dad are proud of him and always would be no matter what he did with his life. If he wanted to quit gymnastics he could knowing his parents wouldn't be disappointed or angry. They would ask why and give their advice and that would be that. The only thing his parents asks of him is to be a good role model for his siblings. He had two sisters and one brother. His younger sister, fourteen year old Annabelle; his nine year old brother Nicholas; and his four year old sister Catalina. They all looked up to him. He was the big brother; the one to come to when going against mom and dad. He is a sixteen year old son, brother, friend, and gymnast. Everything he does, he has passion for.

The sound of an alarm clock being thrown against the wall could be heard through out the whole house. When the persistent annoying beeping noise invaded Alex's sleep, he rolled over and buried his blonde head under the pillow. When the noise wouldn't go away, he angrily grabbed the clock off his night stand and threw it at the wall as hard as his tired body could. He got up when he heard music blaring from his sister's room. _What the hell is she doing? She doesn't have to be at the fricken gym till 10:00. So I don't see why she's up. _He sighed and stomped out of his room across the hall. He raised his fist and pounded on the door.

"Annabelle, what the bloody hell are you doing? Are you trying to make me deaf, because if you are, it's working. If you want to blare music, at least chose some good songs. Yours suck." When the pounding and ranting stopped Alex was met with the light blue eyes of Annabelle.

She spoke with a mocking sarcastic edge in her voice. "Well bro, first off, you are not mom or dad and second you can shove your opinion up your-" Annabelle stopped mid sentence and looked passed Alex's shoulder. Alex sighed and turned around to see their father. He didn't look happy. When he spoke his voice was still full of sleep, but underneath the tiredness was a hint of irritation and anger.

"Well, since we're all up thanks to the two of you, we are going to have breakfast in about ten minutes. So all of you," Sasha turned around and looked at Nicholas and Catalina so they wouldn't feel excluded "can go down and help your mother get breakfast ready." When no one moved Sasha spoke again. "Now!"

As Alex shoved passed Annabelle he saw their dad smirk and pick up Catalina. As he made his way down the stairs with Annabelle he thought he heard his dad mutter something like crazy, loud, kids. He couldn't be sure though. When Alex and Annabelle reached the bottom of the stairs they both looked at each other and smirked. Together they raced each other to the kitchen. He grabbed Annabelle by the waist and swung her behind him so he was in front. He laughed at her protests from behind.

"Hey you pig, that wasn't fair. Idiot." She caught up to him and smacked him on the back of the head. He reached over and shoved her lightly against the counter top.

"Ouch dumb ass! That actually hurt." She gave him a look of anger, but they both were pulled from their argument by their mother.

"Annabelle Mariana Belov, watch your mouth. I don't want to hear you say that again. Do you understand me?" Payson rarely yelled at the children, but when she did, it was loud.

"Yes mom." Annabelle shrank back from the counter as their mother scolded her. Alex smirked and laughed softly at her, but quickly went quiet as his mother turned on him. "And you Alexander, don't let me see you shove your sister again. Understand?"

Alex looked into his mother's withering glare and swallowed quickly before nodding. "Yes mom."

Payson turned back to the stove before pointing towards the cabinet. "Alex set the plates and Annabelle put out the silverware."

They both went towards the cabinet as Sasha walked into the kitchen with Catalina in his arms and Nicholas trailing behind him. They both grimaced as kissing could be heard. Alex leaned over to whisper in Annabelle's ear. "Hey Bells, I wonder why we don't have another sibling. They do that all the time. Like come on. Do they have to do that every time they see each other? Blah."

Annabelle barked out a laugh before turning towards Alex. "Oh I don't know genius, maybe it takes more than kissing to have a baby. Stupid."

Alex grimaced before snapping out another comment. "No shit Sherlock. Didn't really want that image of our parents...together... in my head thanks." Alex looked over his shoulder hoping that his parents didn't hear his slip up. He sighed in relief when he saw that they were still in a heated embrace and probably didn't hear them. "I mean they go at it all the fricken time. You'd think we'd have a whole gym full of siblings. Thank God they don't want more kids. It would be a mad house with all the crying and junk."

Annabelle rolled her eyes before helping set up the table for breakfast. Once everyone was seated they began to eat their breakfast Payson fixed. Alex took a quick look around the table to stare at his family. He saw Annabelle eating her pancakes, Nickolas and Catalina playing with their food, and finally he set his dark eyes on his parents. He cringed inwardly when he noticed they were giving each other the look across the table. _Seriously can they not do that when we're here in front of them? Good God I hope they get all the love out of their system by the time we're all home tonight. Blah! _He sighed before giving his food his full attention.

Moments later Alex got up and put his dishes in the sink. He went back up to his room to gather his things he would need for the gym. He smirked as Annabelle followed him a few short seconds later.

"Look Bells I know I'm an awesome person, but dang sis, do you gotta follow me?" Alex turned towards his sister just in time to see her glare.

"No moron. As much as I despise you I'd much rather be here than down there with Mr. and Mrs. Love-a-lot. It's gross. They keep on smiling and sighing and just...no. So not cool. Seeing mom and dad like that is just...wrong." Annabelle shivered and went to sit on Alex's bed.

Alex frowned at her, but let it pass. "Well, now you know why I leave for Josh's house most weekends and Nicky and Lina go to grandma and grandpa's. I don't know what you do, but now you know why. Cuz mom and dad can't keep their hands off each other on weekends for some reason." He paused to think for a moment before speaking again. "Scratch that. They can't keep their hands off each other period."

Annabelle laughed as he grabbed his gym bag and threw his gym clothes and toiletries, hand guards, a water bottle, and a towel in the bag before zipping it up. Annabelle watched as Alex did this with a thoughtful expression.

"Have you ever thought about quitting?" Annabelle's question came out of no where and shocked the hell out of him. He turned towards her with a thoughtful look, before speaking.

"Honestly, yes. I mean, who could compete with our parents? No one. They are like the king and queen of the sport. No one is going to be better than them. Not now. Not after years of both of them not competing. I think the only one greater than them is Bela Karolyi. I mean yes I love the sport, but sometimes the pressure to be good at it, really sucks. The reason why I have that pressure is because of my last name; all just because of who my parents are. Everyone expects me to be one of the greats. Everyone except mom and dad. That's why I don't quit. I don't quit because I know I don't have to be good at it to please anyone. I enjoy it. I hate the spotlight that comes with it, but I guess I'm like mom and dad like that. Anyway, why you asking me? You don't wanna quit do you?" Alex looked at his sister with questioning eyes while she shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I've been thinking about it and I don't know. I don't wanna be mom and dad. I want to be me. I want to be my own person. I don't want to be recognized just because of who my parents are. I've been thinking of trying my hand at ballet." Alex took a good look at Annabelle and laughed.

"You? The powerhouse gymnast of The Rock do something graceful like ballet? Oh man that's a good one sis. April fools day isn't here quite yet. Wait another month then try it again." Alex leaned over, clutching his side and wiping tears from his eyes.

Annabelle glared at her brother before standing up and kicking him in the crotch. She smirked as he howled in pain while her light blue eyes she inherited from her legendary father flashed with anger. "See, I knew I shouldn't have came to you for advice. I'm an idiot to think you would have helped me. I was being serious _bro_." Alex cringed as the bedroom door slammed shut with a bang.

He got up off his floor slowly making sure he wasn't permanently injured from his sisters' well aimed kick. _Bloody hell, she packs a good punch. _He grabbed his bag and car keys from the bed before glancing at the clock. _Damn, 7:30. I can be at the gym by eight if I leave now and pick up Josh. _He made his way downstairs to see both of his parents exiting their bedroom.

"Son, where you off to?" Sasha glanced at the bag slung over his son's shoulder before locking eyes with him again.

Alex looked into his father's light eyes, before speaking. "Um...just going to go pick up Josh and then be at the gym by eight. Like usual."

Sasha glanced at the bag again, before nodding. "Okay. Well we'll see you at the gym then. Not a minute passed eight son or you'll be doing ropes."

Alex cringed at what his father's promise meant if he was to be late. "Right. Be there by eight and not a moment later. Well if I want to be there by eight then I gotta go." With that he made his way into the garage and got into the red Ferrari that once belonged to his dad. He opened the garage and pulled out of the drive way blasting music from the speakers as loud as it would go.

He listened as the rock version of Crank That flowed from the speakers of his car. Without noticing he was in Josh's driveway in less than ten minutes. He watched as his friend sprinted to the car and got in. He turned down the music so they could hear each other better.

"Alex my man, you are a life saver. Thanks for picking me up. Don't know what I would have done if I had to get a lift from my dad. I would have probably been late and had to face your dad...again. So thanks." Josh gave Alex a grateful smile while Alex just shrugged casually.

"No worries Josh it was no big deal. You're my friend so don't worry about it. Besides, I wouldn't wish my dad's anger on anyone. Trust me." Alex smirked as he pulled out of the drive way. He looked at the clock on the dashboard, before cringing. "Dude, we have like ten minutes to get to the gym. Dad said if I was late then I had a hardcore workout headed my way, so you don't mind if I go a little faster than normal do you?"

Josh grinned while turning the radio up all the way. "Be my guest man. Let's rock and roll."

Alex smirked as he spun the tires. He was too busy listening to the music and concentrating on getting to the gym on time that neither him nor Josh noticed the police car in front of the Pizza Shack. He was in front of The Rock when he noticed the police car. He turned the music down and pulled into the parking lot of the gym with the police car right behind him. He sighed as he noticed everyone from the gym, including his parents and sister, in the parking lot. He cringed when he noticed his fathers face. _Fuck, my dad looks livid. I am so fucking screwed._ He turned towards Josh as the policeman made his way to the drivers side window.

"Fuck. My parents are gonna kill me. Just fucking great." Alex jumped when there was a knock on the window. He turned to see a policeman motioning for him to roll the window down.

"Good morning officer. How are you today?" Alex tried to grin and be friendly, but the officer wasn't playing along.

"License and registration please." Alex gave them to the officer quickly. He sighed and looked at his parents across the lot. He was so fucked.

"So your sixteen Alexander. Do you have any idea how fast you were going through town?" The officers voice held authority, but Alex didn't notice.

"No actually. I don't. Why don't you tell me how fast I was going so I don't go that fast again." Alex's grin faded as the officer stepped back from the car.

"Turn the car off and get out of the car with your hands were I can see them. Both of you." The officer was getting irritated quickly and Alex noticed. So they did as they were told. Alex and Josh cringed as the officer told them to sit on the curb.

Alex spoke to Josh in a quiet voice while the officer checked his car over. "Fuck man. I am so dead. My dad looks pissed. I'll be lucky if I can do gymnastics after this. I am so grounded. This is embarrassing. In front of the whole gym to. Just my fucking luck." Alex stopped his rant as the officer came over with two items that Alex knew to be gym bags.

"What's in this boys?" The officer held up the two gym bags for inspection.

Since it was Alex's car, he decided he would answer. "Those are our gym bags sir. We were heading to the gym behind you for our gymnastics practice when you pulled us over. I didn't want to be late for practice."

The officer smiled down at them before he spoke. "Well boys, I know you just _had _to get to the gym, but really the law makes no exceptions. Even for those girly enough to do gymnastics. Now since I see you don't have a record I'm just giving you a ticket. Now if this happens again then we'll be forced to take more drastic measures. So let's watch the speed limits boys." Alex nodded as he was handed a speeding ticket.

As the officer drove away Alex looked down at the ticket and groaned. "$250.00 for a fricken speeding ticket? My parents are gonna flip out." He climbed back in the car with Josh and slowly pulled in the space that was open next to his parents SUV. He cringed as he got out of the car and went to the trunk to get his gym bag. He notice his dad making his way over. His very angry looking dad.

"Alexander Marcus Belov, there had better be a good reason why an officer pulled you over. My office. Now!" Alex grimaced as Sasha yanked open the front door of the gym and stalked into the building. _I am so fucking screwed. _He sighed before he followed his father into the gym. _Well I may as well get this over with so I can train. _He made his way up the steps and stopped for a moment on the small deck above the gym to look around for what could be the last time for quite some time. He sighed before pulling open the door and going into to face his father wrath.

**AN: I hope you all like this. I wasn't planning on writing a sequel until I was half way through His Life. So please let me know what you think of the chapter. I'm trying to make Alex a delicate mix of Payson and Sasha with his own personality. Not sure how that's working, but please let me know what you think. If you haven't read His Life, go check it out! Please read and review! **


	2. Musings of Annabelle

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Make It or Break It. All material goes to ABC Family and its creators.**

_AN: I'm going to be switching POV's throughout this story. Alex and Annabelle will be the two main POV's because this story is mainly about them. Don't worry I will definitely include Sasha and Payson...they are the parents after all. Just a little hint of what's coming for those two: they may have a couple of surprises headed their way. Anyways, please let me know what you think of Annabelle and Alex. I'm trying to make them their own person. I don't want them to be exactly like their mom and dad. Please read and review to let me know what you guys think. _

I watched as Alex got pulled over by a police officer. If mom and dad wasn't so pissed and watching the whole thing unfold I would have laughed my ass off. Alex glanced over at us a few times looking nervous. I looked over my shoulder as dad's eyes zeroed in on Alex. I cringed even though I wasn't the one to be getting that look. My brother was in deep shit. When dad get's mad, he's like an uncontrollable inferno of fire. The only thing dad would probably do is yell a lot, with good reason, and take away the car for quite some time leaving Alex to depend on mom or dad to take him places. That in itself is punishment enough for Alex. I looked at mom as dad handed her the keys to The Rock.

He spoke without taking his eyes off Alex. "Here love, go unlock the gym and get everyone inside. Start them on their warm-ups and rotations. I may be awhile."

I watched as mom took the keys from dad and made her way over to the crowd staring at Alex blatantly in the parking lot. I vaguely hear her as she ushers everyone inside. I sigh in relief as she went inside, thinking she forgot me. Relief was short lived as I saw dad look at me from the corner of his eye.

"Bells, your a gymnast here to." He turned his light blue eyes towards me. "Get your bag from the back and go inside like everyone else. I'm sure Alex will tell you what happened when I'm through talking with him."

_Damn he noticed I was still here. _I sighed as I walked around the car slowly trying to kill as much time as possible without dad noticing. I walked back around the car and stopped to tie my shoe that conveniently came undone. As I rose up I noticed dad's eyes were narrowed in my direction. I looked at him for a quick second before hastily walking into the gym.

Once inside I made my way over to the floor and next to my three best friends. Aubrey, Nina, and Leanne all looked up as I sat down. Aubrey was the first one to break the silence.

"Oh My God Bell, what the hell happened with Alex? Your dad is so gonna kill him." I was about to answer when the door swung open with a loud bang revealing my angry father. I took in his expression as he walked by. His eyes were darker and his back was rigid as he walked by.

Leanne leaned closer to murmur in my ear. "He looks super pissed. I wonder what that's about."

I turned to look at her. "Hey zip it." I glanced at Aubrey and Nina before I continued "Look let's get stretching before my dad figures out we're just sitting here." I heard Nina murmur as my dad walked out of the office. "Too late."

I glanced up and sure enough my dad was standing on the small deck outside of my parents' office looking very livid.

" This isn't some gossip hour were you all can sit and talk about one another. It's a gym. Now get back to work." His eyes sought mine as he said the last three words. "All of you." With that he turned towards the office again.

I went to work on my floor routine, Nina went over to the uneven bars, Aubrey made her way over to the vault, and Leanne went to the beam. I was in the center of floor when Alex marched into the gym and straight up to the office. I saw him turn and pause for a few seconds before making his way into the office. I kind of felt sorry for Alex because when dad gets mad, it can get...loud to say the least. Dad has an intimidating aura about him when he's angry. He has ways of knowing things that have happened before he talks to you. He tests the honesty and the integrity of the people he is around by faking ignorance sometimes. I feel sorry for Alex because I know he's gonna try and lie. He's better off telling the truth, because dad won't be as upset if he's honest. Knowing Alex, he'll try and lie.

After a few minutes of warming up my limbs I decide to start my actual routine. It turns out I've got crappy timing, because as soon as I start I hear my dad's voice carry out from the office.

"Give me one good reason why your mother and I shouldn't send you to Romania to be with your grandfather? When your over there you can learn a few lessons in responsibility." I cringe because Alex isn't a big fan of Grandpa Dmitri. We've met him a few times, but we never were really close with him. I think that's because dad was never close with him as a kid. Alex must have tried to stammer out an apology because of what I heard my dad say next.

"Saying sorry are just words son. You have to actually mean them. Now after practice I want you to clean off all of the mats. I will stay to make sure you do it properly. I will take you home as well, because you won't be driving the car until further notice. Now get to work." I watched as Alex got up from his chair and stalked down the stairs and over to his bag. He yanked it off the floor and went into the locker room. I was pulled out of my observations by my coach.

"Unless you want to join your brother tonight after practice Annabelle I suggest you get to work." I turned to look at dad before setting off into a sprint across the floor. I was setting myself up for the Double Arabian. Once I had enough momentum I started the movements I would need to work through my move. One moment I was high in the air the next I was flat on my face. I groaned and rolled over on my back. I looked up to see identical eyes looking down at me. Concern flashed across my dad's face.

"Are you alright?" Dad's voice was softer then I expected it to be, but then again, I am his baby girl. I cringed before answering him.

"I'm fine daddy. See?" I flexed my leg and shook out my knee so he could see that nothing was damaged. "Nothing's broken. No blood, no foul." He held out his hand which I gratefully took for support. I wouldn't say anything, but my knee and wrist hurt like hell. If I said something then my dad would freak out and go into full father mode. All traces of my coach would be gone. Since I didn't want to miss any practice time I kept silent. I noticed my dad scrutinize the way I walked to see if I was telling the truth or not. He must have known something wasn't right because he pointed towards the medical room.

"Medical room. Now. I'll have Tara go in and check you over in a few minutes. Go put some ice on it." I sighed as I made my way into the medical room. When I got there I noticed mom going through one of the drawers as if she was looking for something.

"Hey mom. What are you looking for?" I smirked as mom jumped and dropped what she had in her hand back in the drawer. She spun around to face me, while slamming the drawer shut as she did so.

"Oh hey Bell. I'm just...cleaning out some drawers. What are you doing in here?" My mom walked over to the table I was sitting on.

"Oh dad is just being over protective again. I fell trying to execute my Double Arabian for a floor routine I was working on and landed flat on my a..uh..face. Dad wanted me to make sure nothing is broken or whatever. I have no idea why he's like that. It's annoying." I huffed as mom smiled at me.

"Oh honey, trust me. I know what it's like to have an over protective coach. When I was out with my back injury my coach didn't let me do anything to straining for the longest time. I actually had to yell at him so I could do more strength elements. He just didn't want me to get hurt, because he cared for me. So I suggest you listen to him. Not as your dad, but as your coach. He knows what he's doing. Trust me." Mom had that look on her face again. The one she gets every time she's thinking of dad.

I sighed before laying back on the table. "Well I would love to meet your old coach. Because if he could tell you what to do when you were younger, he must have had some sort of power over you."

I heard mom laugh as footsteps sounded outside the door. "Knock knock. Tara been in to check you over yet?"

"No dad. I haven't been doing anything. Just ask mom. I haven't moved since I got in here." I opened my eyes to see dad hovering over the table I was on. He looked like he wanted to inspect my leg. I sighed and indulged him, knowing I really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I just want to make sure nothing is broken or out of place. I've had to deal with injuries before. It comes with the sport." I noticed that dad shared a quick look with mom before giving my leg his full attention. "So life your leg up Bells." I did as I was instructed. To distract myself from the pain shooting throughout my knee I decided to find out more about my mom's old coach.

"So mom, tell me more about your old coach. He sounded really girly and protective of you." I noticed mom's eyes flicker to dad before hopping up on the table next to mine.

"Okay Bells, what do you want to know?"

"What was he like? Was he more like Bela Karolyi, Nadia Comaneci or Mary Lou Retton?" Mom laughed so hard tears were in her eyes.

"Wow. I think he would be offended being compared to women gymnasts." I looked to see dad roll his eyes as he spoke. "Besides all of those people you named Bells are good gymnasts'. I've met her old coach. He seems more like a Bela Karolyi to me. At least I always thought so. He had his own twisted ways of coaching though. Just ask your mum."

I turned to look at mom for an explanation. "Well let's just say me and three other gymnasts went out on Saturday to have one last night of fun before practically handing our lives over to our coach. Needless to say he found out about our night and called us in the next day for the most hardcore training I've ever went through. I'm still not sure how he found out about that party either. He never would say. He made one heck of a first impression. He turned out to be an awesome coach. He actually cared about what happened to us outside of the gym. That's something that doesn't happen often. He believed in us when we didn't believe in ourselves. He believed in me and helped me through one of the hardest things in my life. After my back injury, he helped me reinvent myself as an artistic gymnast. My floor routine from the 2012 Olympics was dedicated to him. I named it after him in a way."

I winced as dad put pressure on my knee. "That hurt Bells?"

I cringed and nodded my head. I turned back to mom. The curiosity of who her famous coach was made me even more determined to find out his identity. "Well what did you call it?"

She smiled and I noticed her eyes flicker to dad again before she spoke. "The Phoenix's Flower."

"I don't get it. Why would you name your beautiful floor routine after a non-existent bird and a flower? They don't exactly go together." I looked at mom as she looked at dad. She must have felt my gaze because she turned towards me and smiled.

"Well Bells, the phoenix is supposed to rise from the ashes of its former self. Kind of like I had to do. After my back injury I felt like I wouldn't be the gymnast I was before my accident. I rose from that tragedy and invented the artistic gymnast style everyone seems to associate me with. The flower part of it was supposed to be a reference to my coach. He told me I was a beautiful flower that needed to bloom and grow, so I could show the world how truly beautiful I was. Relating to my gymnastics of course."

I noticed mom put that last part on kind of quickly, like she was concealing something for the fun of it. I looked into her eyes and face. She looked concerned. My eyes flashed to dad and I saw concern in his light eyes. I heard mom's voice through the haze of confusion clouding my brain.

"Sasha, what's wrong?" She got off the table and walked over to the table to get a closer look at my knee.

"Her knee is swelling. That's not a good sign. I think we need to get it x-rayed to see if anything is torn or broken." I yanked my leg out of my dad's gentle grasp.

"No. I'm fine. I can just get a shot in it. It'll be fine. I don't need to go to any doctor." I started to hobble out of the room when dad's large hand came to rest on my shoulder.

"I'm not asking you to do this Annabelle. I'm telling you to. Not as your father, but as your coach." I sighed. I hated when he played the coach card. It was kinda irritating and annoying. I turned to glare at him, but his glare put mine to shame. I sighed and gave in knowing that I really had no choice in the matter.

"I want you to sit back down on this table and put ice on your knee. Twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off. I'll come back to check on you periodically." He turned to look at mom. "Pay, make sure she puts the ice on for the first twenty minutes. I'll be back in a little bit."

I watched as dad disappeared down the hall. I sighed while putting the ice pack on my swollen knee. I turned to see mom sitting on the table across from mine. I decided I may as well pass the time trying to figure out who her old coach was.

"So you must have been close with your old coach for you to dedicate a routine after him. So was he old?" I laughed as mom's eyes lit up.

"God no. He was devastatingly handsome. He had the roguish thing going for him. He had sky blue eyes with dark blonde hair and scruffy stubble. He was also about ten years older than me." She sighed as her eyes glazed over.

I smirked at her. "Wow mom, dad may get jealous. You sounded like you had a crush on him."

She laughed before continuing with her story. "Well I did. He was also my first kiss. I took him by surprise. I was just so happy that I nailed my new floor routine. I let buried emotions and feelings get the best of me. Anyway to say it was awkward after I kissed him would be an understatement. We worked through the awkwardness and continued on like before."

"How did you manage that after you did something that embarrassing?"

"Well my coach always believed that trust and honesty was the two most important things in a relationship between a coach and athlete. He told me after the kissing fiasco that he trusted me and that nothing between us was ruined. I trusted him and that incident made our bond as coach and athlete stronger. After that we seemed to work more as equals than anything else. Over time he become one of the most important people in my life. I am who I am today because of my former coach." She sighed as a small smiled played across her face.

I looked at mom and just began to realize how truly beautiful she was. Her long blond hair was in loose curls while her smooth face was sun kissed. Her eyes held the love of a mother and the wisdom of a thirty five year old. She always looked her best when she was with dad. Or even talking about him. I sighed as I looked at the clock. I smiled as I took off the ice pack. I sensed mom look at the clock as well.

"Well honey, I'm going to go get your father in here to see if your knee is any better." As mom made her way out the door I stopped her before she could leave.

"Can you please try to convince dad to not take me to the hospital. Only if the swelling is down though. If it's still swelled up then I guess I'll go, but not if its better."

Mom smiled at me before nodding. "I'll see what I can do. I'm not promising anything though. You know how your father can be."

I made sure mom was down the hall before hopping off the table and walking to the drawer she was rummaging in earlier. When I pulled the drawer open, I was shocked at what I saw. Before I could look any more I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I lunged at the closest table just in time because not three seconds later dad walked through the door.

"Hey Bells. I'm gonna check your knee again. Now if it's not swollen then you can go home and stay off of it for the rest of the day. If not then you know where you're going." I sighed as I lifted my leg up for him to inspect it.

"Yea dad I know. Hey I got a quick question for you?" He looked up at me with bright eyes and smiled.

"Sure sweetheart. Ask away." I smiled. _Perfect. _

"So how long you been coaching?" Okay it was lame I know, but I had to start somewhere.

"Well since late 2000. Since I blew out my knew during the Olympics I couldn't compete again, so I though why not coach. So after I won my gold medals, I decided to coach in Romania for awhile."

I sighed wanting to know more. "After Romania?"

He looked up from my knew to smile at me. "What's with all the questions Bells?"

I smiled before answering. "Well I mean, I know you and mom were gymnasts, but not about you guys coaching together or anything. Because we never really asked or talked about you guys after Alex and me came along. Just curious daddy." I gave him my best smile, but he didn't buy it.

He looked at me skeptically before going back to my knee. "You my little flower are up to something. So any romantic questions can be saved for your mom. Although you shouldn't be interested in boys or romance. You're still too young for that stuff. Wait a couple more years." He paused before continuing. "Scratch that. Wait till you're about thirty or so. Then we can talk."

I groaned and rolled my eyes as he was still inspecting my knee. After a few minutes he looked up at me. "Okay kiddo. Here's the deal. Wrap your knee, go home, relax, and put ice on it in twenty minute intervals. Your mom will go home with you obviously. I have to stay and coach. I also have to stay with your brother after that for his punishment."

I sighed in relief as dad helped me off the table. I walked slowly out of the room and into the gym to grab my gym bag. I saw my dad talk with my mom so I went over to Aubrey, Nina, and Leanne to say bye. "Hey guys. I have to shut down for today. My knee is flaring up so I gotta go home. I'll text you guys tonight."

I walked past Alex who was working on the parallel bars. He lowered himself to the ground and ran after me.

"Sis wait up." I turned to come face to face with my arrogant\ brother.

"What?" I sighed as I kept walking towards mom and dad.

"What's wrong with you? You have no need to complain. You don't have to spend more hours than need be in this god forsaken gym. I do."

I reeled on him with angry eyes. "Well I wasn't the one stupid enough to speed through town. Moron. Dad and mom should send you to Romania with grandpa Dmitri. He could kick your ass in gear."

Alex scoffed as he looked at me." Oh please. Don't even go there. You were the one who was griping and saying you may quit the sport. So I don't want to hear you preach to me. _Sis._"

I ignored him as I made my way towards mom and dad...again. I smirked as dad glanced up and glared at Alex. "Alexander! Did I tell you to quit practicing? Get back on the bars." Alex must not have moved because another beat past before dad spoke again. "Now!"

I turned to look at Alex as he shrugged and strutted back towards the bars. I sighed as I finally walked up next to mom. Dad turned to look at me before taking me in his strong arms.

"You rest up. When I get home I don't want to see you prancing around the house like usual. I expect to see you on your bum doing nothing. Got it?"

I giggled before nodding. I loved it when dad's British accent and phrases broke through. I winced as mom and dad kissed each other goodbye. I sighed when I finally was in the car with mom. It would be nice to not do anything for a day. No gymnastics and no chores. I planned on doing just that as our house come into view.

_AN: I know this is a long chapter. Consider it a gift, because I'm not sure how often I will be able to update in the next two weeks or so. It's getting down to the wire for the fall semester here at school so I'm gonna be really busy with actually studying and writing actual papers for awhile. I'll try to update on the weekends when I have nothing to do. I know were the story is going and I have it planned out so bare with me. I tried to make Annabelle her own person and Alex his own person as well. I'm not sure how I'm doing on that, but please let me know how I'm doing. Also Sasha and Payson haven't told their kids how they came to be together, because they've never felt the need to. Until Annabelle starts asking the questions that is. I'm trying to make Sasha a good balance between coach and father. I know when it comes to his baby girl he's super protective. Anyway please read and review to let me know what you guys think. All reviews are welcomed. Until next time :) _


	3. Crime and Punishment

**Disclaimer: I again...own nothing of Make It or Break It. All characters and original plots belong to ABC Family and the writers. **

_A/N: Okay I found some time to work on this late at night after the homework and other junk was done for the night at least. So I see a lot of people put this story on their favorite list, but don't review. Please guys, I really would like to get feedback on the stories. You don't have to leave a review, but it would be very appreciated. I want to know what you guys really think of the story. So please read and review! :)_

As I watch my sister leave I can't help, but wish I was the one who landed flat on my ass. Maybe then I could go home and get sympathy like her, then I wouldn't have to clean these damn mats after practice. I love my sister to death, but sometimes she gets so annoying and bitchy. She doesn't even want to do this sport any more and yet she's still competing in meets trying to get on the National Team. It doesn't make any since to me. I slide over to the water cooler as I see my dad start to walk towards me. Call me obvious, but I don't feel like having my dad, who just so happens to be my, coach breath down my neck.

I sigh as he follows me. I know there's no escaping this confrontation that I know is going to happen so I just stand there waiting for him. I look in his eyes and I can see the anger, the disappointment, and the concern. My dad hates to admit it, but his eyes are truly the window to his heart and soul. The only people he let's see through him easily is mom and us kids.

Dad crosses his arms over his chest and just looks at me a few seconds before speaking. "Son, I don't know what's going on with you today. Do you even want to be here? You were fine this morning when you left." His voice is soft yet laced with frustration.

I shrugged halfheartedly and put the cup of cold water to my lips. My dad sighed before speaking in a harsher tone. "If you don't want to be here, then you know what you can do. No one is making you come here everyday. No one is making you compete in these meets. No one is making you be a gymnast. Don't do this sport, just because your mother and I did. Do it because you want to do it for you. No one else."

I look at him before speaking for the first time since he yelled at me in his office. "Look I want to be here. I'm not the one you should be asking whether or not they want to be here. Go ask Annabelle that. She's the one who wants to quit gymnastics." As soon as the words leave my mouth I know I've said the wrong thing. Not only is Annabelle going to be pissed at me for telling mom and dad before she could, but the look on my dad's face when I said it told me I was screwed. I totally took him by surprise when I said that. His eyes become wide and for the first time he had nothing to say back.

I sigh as I make my way over to the parallel bars to begin working on my new routine. After a few minutes of constant work and concentration, I get interrupted by Josh.

"Hey. So what did your parents say when they dragged you into the office?" Josh's question was hesitant and careful. I smirk because I know he doesn't want to see me go off. So I just look at him and shrugged casually.

"Oh you know my dad. He yelled a lot." I laugh looking around quickly making sure dad wasn't near by. I continued talking when I saw dad on the other side of the gym working with Aubrey on her floor routine. "Oh and get this. Dear old dad threatened to send me to freaking Romania to train with my grandfather. There is no way in hell I'm going over there. I won't have anything if I go over there. No girls, no free time. I'll literally sleep, eat, breath, and bleed gymnastics." I talk in a British accent to imitate dad. " 'If you go over there then you'll learn some lessons in responsibility.' Please. I'd love for them to send me over there. See what happens when they do." I'm so caught up in my rant that I fail to notice Josh make a cutting motion at his neck. I look at him as he mouthed 'your dad'. _Just my fucking luck. _I sigh in relief as he makes his way over here. _Good he didn't hear me. _Although I cringe as I see his face.

Dad's eyes are narrowed in an angry manner, while his mouth is set in a thin line. "Are you trying to get sent to Romania? Because if you are, then your mother and I will definitely send you there. Your grandfather would just love to train with you." I notice his voice was laced with sarcasm.

I sigh, walking over to the mats to sit down. Dad followed suit. I begin to try and explain the situation from this morning for the first time. "Look dad, I'm just not having the best day. First Annabelle blares music at five this morning and I was running late for training today. Looking back I would much rather have a harder workout then an expensive ticket." I take a glance at my dad. His eyes show understanding, but a hint of disappointment and anger.

"Son, everyone has rough days. Even me, but that doesn't mean break the law or snap at people all day. It doesn't mean you should put your life in danger either. No gymnastics medal or training session is more important than a life. Your mother and I couldn't bare to lose you. I just want you to use the good judgment and brain your mother and I taught you to use. I know you've got a good brain because your mother gave you one. You got all her brains. Thank God. Anyway...the thing I'm trying to get at is think before you act son. Don't do anything stupid that you'll regret."

I nod my head in acknowledgment as I stare at the uneven bars. "So does this mean I don't have to clean the mats?"

I inwardly groan as I see my dad's mouth raise up in a lopsided grin. "No Alex. You still have to clean the mats. I'll help you though so we can go home faster. Finish training and we'll clean the mats when practice is over in a few more hours."

The morning hours slowly stretched into the early evening. I sighed as the clock above the entrance read 3:30. I noticed all of the other gymnast left except for Josh. He came over before my dad came out of his office.

"Hey Alex just wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about my way home. I'll grab a ride with Zach. I know you wouldn't be able to give me a lift." He looked past my shoulder to see my dad walk out of the office. "That is my cue to get out of here before he makes me do mats. See ya tomorrow man." After a hasty exit Josh left me alone with my dad.

"So dad, you going to help me like you said?" I look at dad's face to see him smiling at me.

"Of course I'm going to help you. Honesty is one of the most important things between a coach and his athlete. So if I said I was going to help you then I'm going to help you." He shoved a bucket and mop towards me when he was done with his little pep talk.

"Okay. It beats going at it alone." I grab the mop and begin to do the mop closest to me as dad grabs the rag to dry it as I go.

We work in silence for awhile, but after a few minutes I break the silence. "So, how did you end up here in Boulder, Colorado if you were raised in Romania?"

It was quiet for moment until dad finally answered my question. "Well that's a lot of stories thrown together. Do you want the short version or the long version? I'll worn you the long version could take a really long time."

_Sweet. Dad is asking if I want to know the whole story or the skeleton. That's a good question. Damn. Well we got a while so I'll go for the long version. _I glance up from my work to look at dad. "Long version."

Dad's eyes widened for a moment before he sighed and began telling me the story of his life basically. In the course of the next couple of hours he told me about the fall out him and grandpa had; going to England and winning his gold medals in grandma's memory instead of staying with his dad in Romania; coaching in England for a couple of years; meeting and falling in love with MJ as well as getting heartbroken by her; and finally moving to the states. I realized by the time he was done with his story, we were thankfully done cleaning the mats.

I sighed in relief as we put up the cleaning equipment away in the closet. As we made our way towards the door, he held out his hand. I looked at him confused for a moment. "What? I have nothing to hand over dad."

He looked at me before narrowing his eyes. "The keys to the car son. Hand 'em over until further notice."

I groan as I relinquish my precious keys over to my dad. As we both get in the car and go home I can't help, but feel happy to be going home. It was a long ass day. I think of what I'm going to do as soon as the house comes into view. I'm going to get a shower, eat, annoy Annabelle, and then I'm going to indulge myself in my favorite activity: poetry. As dad pulls the car into the garage I leap out of the car and head straight to my room to conquer my to-do list before my night is over. 


	4. Clues and Dinner

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Make Ir or Break It. All rights and plots go to ABC Family and the creators. **

**AN: I know I am so sorry I haven't updated. I found time to write this over the last few days. Now that school is almost over for the semester I will have one whole month devoted to writing this story. Please as always let me know what you guys think. A few key points in this story I am in fact debating. I'm not sure whether or not to send Alex to Romania or have him stay in the state. I'm not sure if I want something to happen to Annabelle like her mom or not. Not sure whether or not to have another addition to the family. These are a few ideas running around in my head. Not sure what to do with them all. Please let me know if you guys have any opinions on these ideas or not. As always read and review. I love reading them. Enjoy the chapter..:-)**

I groan as I wake up to someone stomping up the stairs. I look at my clock on the nightstand to check the time and automatically know it's Alex. Dad would never stomp up the stairs if he knows anyone is sleeping or not feeling well. Alex on the other hand does the one thing he shouldn't just to piss people off. I see Alex's shadow under the door as he passes by to go to his room and I sigh when he doesn't try to come in. I slump back into my pillow willing the pain in my knee to go away. I assume that since Alex is home, dad is to, so I get up and slowly head to the bathroom. After I put my long blonde hair in a pony-tale and brush my teeth I slowly make my way downstairs into the living room. When I walk into the living room I see mom and dad...kissing...again for the millionth time today. To make matters worse his hands was up mom's shirt. I mean I know they are so in love and all that romantic stuff, but do they seriously have to do that all the time, every time they're in the same vicinity? Blah...I close my eyes tightly as I clear my throat hoping to get them to stop making out. I sigh in relief as I see dad pull from mom quickly before looking at me.

"Hey Bells. Didn't...uh...didn't see you there." Dad's face was red and his eyes had a far away look in them.

I sigh before rolling my eyes. "Of course you wouldn't see me dad. You was too busy feeling at mom's.."

"Okay Annabelle. I get it." Dad cut in before I could finish my thoughts. "Shouldn't you be resting anyway, instead of sneaking up on people?"

I roll my eyes again as I walk pass mom and dad over to the couch to sit down. "Happy?"

Dad's light blue eyes raked over me from head to toe. I assume he was checking for any visible injury I might have attained walking downstairs. "Yes. For now. As long as you don't do anything strenuous to put more weight and pressure on your knee then need be. How is it feeling? Any more pain?"

I inwardly cringe hoping to hide the lie, hoping my dad wouldn't notice. I look at him with a look that I've tried to master from mom. "It's fine dad. I haven't been doing anything at all since I got back. Just ask mom."

He looked like he was about to object, but mom thankfully came to my defense. "Sasha, she's fine. She's been resting upstairs since we got home this morning. Stop worrying so much."

Dad looked between mom and me quickly before facing mom. I cringed at seeing the stances both of them had. Mom's eyes flashed with determination while both of her hands were resting on her hips. Dad had his arms crossed over his chest while his light blue eyes narrowed at mom. Dad was the first one to speak. "I would have thought, Payson, that you would be with me on this. Seeing as how you and I both know that when an athlete at the elite level seems to be fine, after an injury, when they're not. Do you remember past injuries, Payson? Do you remember the back injury?"

I look at mom to see for once, her eyes flash with anger towards dad. Mom and dad don't argue much, but when they do, it can get heated. "Of course I remember Sasha. How could I forget. I'm just saying we should trust Annabelle's judgment on this. It's her body, not ours."

Dad's eyes turned as cold as glaciers. "I will not have her be injured and training. I thought you would agree, seeing as how we've been through this before. Do you remember what happened last time one of my gymnasts trained while injured? It ended in surgery and complicated issues towards the Olympics."

Mom stepped closer to where she was only a few inches from dad. "It ended in a come back. Yes it complicated things, but it made things and circumstances better in the long run. I'm not saying let her train if she's hurt. I'm just saying we should trust our daughter. Not our gymnast, our daughter."

I knew mom won the argument because dad's posture relaxed and he sighed before looking back at me.

"Go on upstairs and get Alex. You two help Nicky and Catalina get ready for dinner."

I nod before slowly making my up the stairs towards Alex's bedroom. Without really thinking about it, I walk in without knocking. I'm met with a sight I wish I could live without. I shriek and turn around before speaking.

"Aaahh! God, put some clothes on. My God, are you trying to blind me?" I'm facing the door tapping my good leg impatiently against the floor.

"First off, knock next time. This is my room, not yours. You can't barge in on a guy like that. God. You deserve to be freaked out. It's not like I'm strutting around the house in my boxers, at least I have the decency to put pants on around the house." I heard him pause as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Now, what do you want?"

I'm still facing the door as I speak. "Can I turn around now?"

Alex sighs as he says yes. "It's not like I was traipsing around in the nude. At least I had some clothing on. From your scream, people would have thought you seen me naked."

"Okay well, mom and dad said that you and I need to help get Nicky and Catalina ready for dinner." I make my way over to the bed and sit down while putting my hand on my knee to try and rub some of the pain away. Alex looks at me before glancing down at my knee.

"Does it still hurt?" I look in his dark blue eyes and see concern. One thing about Alex that I love is that he's a protective brother, but he knows when I can handle myself.

"Not really. I told dad and mom I'm fine, but I'm not sure if dad believes me or not. Him and mom kind of got into it about it." I look at Alex to see him smirking.

"You do know that when they argue they make up later on at night when we're sleeping or not around. You do know that don't you?" I sigh and shake my head. _Leave it up to the man whore to think of sex...eeeeewwwww...mom and dad...gross. _

"You are a disgusting pig. Change of subject big time...kind of. When mom and dad were snapping at each other downstairs, dad mentioned something that got my interest peeked in some of his past gymnasts. Do you have your lap top on?" I look around his room for his laptop when I find it open and on at his desk. Before he has a chance to answer I leap up forgetting about my knee. I grimace through the pain, making my way over as fast as I can towards the desk. I know Alex is right behind me wondering what I'm getting at. As I pull up the search engine I can feel him over me shoulder.

"Okay sis. I'm confused. We go from talking about mom and dad to my computer. I don't see the connection."

I roll my eyes before elaborating. "Okay dad mentioned that one of his gymnasts was injured a long time ago. I think it was a back injury or something. When dad mentioned it, mom got really defensive about it. So I'm assuming that mom and dad coached the gymnast with the back injury. I don't know. I wanna find out who was awesome enough to do the impossible. Do you know how hard it is to come back to a sport as demanding as gymnastics with a bad back? It's almost impossible. Dad probably doesn't want me to know because he doesn't want me thinking or getting ideas about doing something while I'm injured or whatever."

I turn back towards the computer and type in: **Sasha and Payson Belov coaching accidents. **As the computer is looking for results I look back at Alex. "When I find out who this legend is, I'm going to like worship them forever. Coming back from a fatal injury like that has got to take some determination and strong will."

"Yea I know. You ever wonder how mom and dad met? I mean yeah we know they were both into gymnastics awhile ago and we know dad is like a freaking legend or whatever, but they never really told us how they met." Alex's voice took on a curious tone as he asked the question.

"Yea. They both coached at the same place I think. Mom and dad never really got into details. Oh look results are up." I read through the results and come across one that had mentions of a back injury. I click on it and begin reading. Halfway through I look at Alex and see him leaning against the desk.

"You remember when I said that mom and dad coached together?" I only meant for the question to be rhetorical, but he answered anyway.

"Yeah. What's the big deal? They coached together. Big deal." Alex just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. I sighed in annoyance and explained.

"According to this, the only person who was coaching when mom and dad met was dad. Guess what mom was doing when they met?" Alex just shifted his eyes between me and the screen. I huffed before continuing. "Mom was a freaking gymnast when they met. Guess who her coach was?"

"Okay sis. Get up out of my chair and let me see. So what? Mom was a gymnast when they met. Big deal. Let me take a look at that." Alex pulled me out of the chair and sat down. Just as Alex started reading dad came in the door way.

"Guys didn't I tell you to help get Nick and Catalina ready for dinner? Come on you two, you can look at that later. Let's go." I sigh as I grab Alex by the arm and yank him from the chair. I was close enough to here him whisper 'no fucking way' before being yanked from the screen.

I sigh as I yank Alex down the hall into Nick's room. "Look bozo, we can read it later after dinner. After we get done with dinner we can come back up and read the article without interruptions and speculate from there." We walk into Nick's room to see him playing a computer game. His dark blond hair is sticking up and his light blue eyes are glued to the screen. I walk up behind him and run my hand through his hair to get his attention. "Hey buddy. Mom and dad said that we have to get ready for dinner so shut down until later."

Nicky looks up from his game to stare at me. "Do I have to? I wanna play."

I sigh before smiling at him. "Yes you have to. You can play later. If you don't I'll go get mom."

The threat of getting mom spurred him into action. He quickly shut off his computer and ran past Alex and me towards the bathroom to wash his hands. Alex smirked at me before speaking. "You know, your good at pulling the mom card. No one wants mom mad at them. Not even dad and that's saying something." He paused briefly, looking down at my injured knew. " Look since your knee is bothering you, I'll go get Catalina. You know she'll want to climb on one of us. I'd rather it be me and not you. You don't want to hurt your knee anymore then it already is."

I sigh glancing at my knee before nodding. "I'll just go check on Nicky. Make sure he's not playing in the water or anything. We'll get in your room right after dinner."

Alex smirked at me, one gesture I'm sure he got from dad, before nodding. "Okay. I'll see you down there sis."

I nod moving past Alex and going into the bathroom. Nicky is washing his hands, so I grab a hand towel off the rack and hand it to him. I glance in the mirror and see the resemblance between mom and Nicky. He has dad's eyes, but everything else is mom, even his personality. His personality is so kind and caring. I look back down and see Nicky put the towel in the hamper before looking up at me.

"Hey Bell, do you know what we're having for dinner?" His face looks up at mine innocently with his sparking baby blue eyes.

"Not sure buddy. Maybe if you go downstairs and ask mom, she'll tell you. I think dinner is almost ready. So let's go." I place my hand on his shoulder to steer him in the direction of the stairs.

"Can you give me a piggy back ride Bell?" He was hopping up and down hoping I would say yes. I sigh before looking at him.

"Sorry Nicky. You're too big for me to carry anymore. Besides my knee kind of hurts. You can walk downstairs with me though." I make my way downstairs with Nicky close behind me.

As we enter the dinning room I see Chinese food laid out. I see mom placing the food cartons in the center of the table while dad is setting out the plates and silverware. _Maybe dad is trying to get on mom's good side since he snapped at her earlier._ I take a seat at the table next to Nicky. A few seconds later Alex and Catalina come in. Alex sits across from me while Lina sites across from Alex. A few seconds later mom and dad sit down at each end. Mom breaks the silence.

"I think we need a bigger table." I look at mom to see her eyes sparkling. _She is so hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is. She's been acting a little weird lately. _I look at dad and he has a look of affection on his face. _Wait a second...does dad know something about mom that we don't? _I look between my parents to see them gazing in each others eyes. I inwardly groan before an idea strikes me. I pick up my napkin and throw it at Alex to see if mom or dad are paying attention. Alex's protest seems to bring them out of their daze.

"Finally. Now that everyone is alert and have stopped staring at each other...can we please eat now? I'm starved. I've been at the gym all day." Alex whined and picked up his fork.

"You're not going to die moron. Stop whining." God...he can be so freaking irritating.

"Both of you enough. Alex you're not going to die and Annabelle stop provoking your brother." We both looked over to see dad looking between the two of us. "Now if you two are done acting like two year old's we can eat."

After a few seconds of tense silence we all started grabbing food from the table and piling it on to our plates. Dinner went by fairly quickly without too much trouble. Once Alex and I both finished we met each others gaze across the table. We both knew what the other was thinking. We both moved to get up when dad's voice stopped us.

"Where do you two think you're going? Since neither of you helped your mother set up for dinner you both can wash the dished." Dad looked between Alex and me expectantly. Alex as always protested.

"Dad, seriously, come on. It's not hard picking up the phone and dialing a number to order food." Alex was whining again and dad was getting irritated.

"Romania is still an option for you." Dad's ice blue eyes was narrowed towards Alex who quickly complied with the threat of going to Romania hanging over his head.

"Come on sis. The sooner I get this done the sooner I can go up to my room and read." Alex looked towards me meaningfully. I got the message loud and clear. I quickly got up to help Alex. _He's right. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can read that article about mom and dad. _A few minutes in mom came over with the other dishes.

"Thank you guys. When you're done I want you guys to clean off the table. Once you guys are done you can do whatever. Just don't destroy anything." Mom made her way into the living room with dad probably to get cozy while watching some movie. I quickly turned to Alex.

"Look, when we're done, we can read that article. If you want to be done quicker I can clean the table and put stuff away while you do dishes." Alex for once agreed before turning back towards the sink.

A little over twenty minutes later Alex and I found ourselves in front of his computer screen. I leaned over his shoulder to where we both could read the article together. With a few clicks of the mouse the article was back on the computer screen. We both leaned forward and started to read.


	5. Lies and Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but Payson and Sasha's children. Everything else is ABC Family and their 'lovely' ideas. So no guys, I don't own Sasha...although he would make a great Christmas gift...Neil Jackson would anyway..lol.**

**AN: For those of you who are review I want to thank you guys so much. Every time I see a new review I get so excited and read it right away. So thank you guys for keeping me inspired to write this. I really enjoy getting into the characters and hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. **

As I look at the screen in front of me I can't help, but feel betrayed and lied to and that hurts. Especially since the two people that aren't supposed to lie to me has. My own damn parents lied to me, to Annabelle, about a big part of their lives. The only question I can ask myself now is _why? _ Why did they feel the need to lie to the most important people in their lives? I sigh and look at Annabelle who is sitting next to me. She looks how I feel: pissed and hurt. I shake my head trying to clear my thoughts. As if a simple shake of my head can erase what I've just read. I lean forward again to read what I've already read, just to make sure it's all true and I'm not imagining things.

_**Coach and Athlete become Husband and Wife**_

_**Most coaches gracefully bow out of their athletes lives when the dream of being on an Olympic team is achieved. That's not going to be the case for Coach Sasha Belov and one of his former gymnasts. As always, he defies the normal code of conduct; he wouldn't be the renegade coach he is if he didn't. After many relationships and evasive ways of a bachelor, Sasha Belov has finally found a future bride. His wife-to-be is none other than one of his former gymnasts. Their journey together started in early 2009 when The Rock's former coach, Marty Walsh, took a coaching job offered by Denver Elite. The Rock was scrambling to find a suitable coach for their elite female gymnasts. Among the elites was Payson Keeler, Emily Kmetko, Lauren Tanner, and Kaylie Cruz. After a short, but intense search, four time Olympic Gold Medalist, Sasha Belov took the offer. In taking the job he would have to work with the four elite women more than any other gymnasts at The Rock. He began working with them all equally preparing them for Nationals later in 2009. It was during Nationals that disaster struck. Or so it seemed. The one gymnast that had a secure spot on the National Team fell during an uneven bar routine and suffered a back injury. After months of speculation and a risky back surgery it appeared that Payson Keeler was on her way back to the top. Payson and Sasha worked together closely for the next three years. It seems that during those three years, Sasha and Payson forged and developed a bond that no one else could even begin to understand. Their relationship has been under a microscope every since the infamous kiss that was shared between them at the Olympics two years ago. Ever since Payson Keeler won gold for her historical floor routine (dedicated to and named in honor of her coach), she has coached along side Sasha at The Rock where they met and trained. Despite the age difference and the fact that he is her former coach, they have both found love in places they both least expected it. A rough coach who didn't believe in love was inspired emotionally by one of the best gymnasts this country has ever seen to date. A scared gymnast was torn and recreated by the one man who would complete her, coach her, and help her fulfill one of her life long dreams. The wedding is set to be in the beginning of May, just a few short months before Nationals. We expect to see the Belov coaching team with their elite athletes in Boston in late August where they will most certainly shine. **_

I pull away from the screen, dumbfounded and shocked at what I've just read, yet again. My mother apparently was my father's gymnast before they got together. Thinking back it all makes since now. All of what Annabelle told me about mom's floor routine and what mom and her talked about earlier today; dad bringing up the injury of a past gymnast he had; and mom saying that she was the person she is today because of her coach. It all made perfect since now. I turn to look at Annabelle. She is now lounging on my bed so I walk over and sit down next to her.

I sigh, my dark blue eyes piercing Annabelle's light blue ones. "I assume you've read the whole thing to?"

She smirks while nodding. "I can't believe they haven't said anything to us about this. This is a big part of their lives. Yea it all happened before either of us were born, but still. We have a right to know this kind of thing."

I shrug nonchalantly, forcing down the hurt and pain at being lied to. "It's just whatever. They did have a right to keep it to themselves. I mean we never really asked how they technically got together." I look over at Bells to see her eyes closed in thought. "You okay sis? Ever since reading that article about mom and dad, you've been kind of quiet."

She breathes in and lets out a breath slowly before hesitating. When she speaks it's timid as if she's scared. "Not really. My knee is killing me. Obviously that's not good. Besides that I'm just thinking about the article I read." She stops talking for a moment, but then her eyes pop open. "Did you hear mom's comment at dinner about needing a bigger table?"

I think back for a second, before shaking my head. "Nope. I had food in front of me. When there is food near by, you know me, I just focus on mă, mă, şi eu." I look at her and notice her smirking.

"Of course. Leave it up to you to only think of te şi produse alimentare." I quirked an eyebrow at her. Even though all of us, aside from mom, can speak and understand Romanian fluently, we hardly ever speak it.

"Going a little native on me sis. You hardly speak in Romanian. Either you're tired or just testing me on my suav abilităţile de vorbire." I lace in some Romanian just to piss her off. I smirk when she scowls.

"Sorry to disappoint you sis, but you have to remember when I was a baby, dad spoke to me in Romanian to. In fact, he spoke to all four of us in Romanian. Hell even Lina could probably out speak me right now. Her and Grandpa Dmitri could hold a better conversation in Romanian then me and him at this point."

I lean over and snatch a pillow off the bed so I can sling it at Bells. When I go to swing it I miss her by a couple of inches. Instead of hitting her in the head like I intended, it ricochets off my head board and goes flying towards my lamp...my very breakable, expensive lamp that mom got for "decorative purposes". When the pillow made impact with the lamp I willed it not to go crashing into the wall, I really did. Luck obviously didn't intervene, because the noise crashed in my ears and echoed all around the room with a loud smash.

Annabelle looked at me with wide eyes. "Wow bro. Today is just not your day. First you get pulled over for speeding, yelled at by dad and threatened to be shipped off to Romania, and now you break a lamp...an expensive lamp no less. Mom and dad are so going to kill you."

I cringe before glancing around the room. "Gee, thanks for the confidence boost sis. Really helps me out." I go over to where the lamp originally sat on the side table and grimace. I totally destroyed it. There was no gluing it back together and hoping mom didn't notice. It was in tiny shards. I look at Annabelle before walking towards the door. "I'll be back. I'm going to get a bag or something to put all the glass in...maybe even a broom."

I walk downstairs and into the kitchen in search for a bag. I find a plastic bag and broom in no time. As I walk out of the kitchen I hear someone in the living room. Of course me being a curious person and all stayed and listened in on the conversation. Immediately I knew it was mom and dad. I flattened myself against the wall, around the corner so they wouldn't notice me. I heard mom speak first.

"Sasha are you sure about this? I mean really sure, because you know this would be a lot of responsibility, not to mention changes. I'm not saying we couldn't handle it. Its just that we have Alex and Annabelle with their gymnastics and then there's Nicky and Lina who are only nine and four. Do you really think we can go through this all over again, not that it matters because you know how I feel about this." Mom questioned dad about something and she sounded hesitant.

I could sense that dad shifted closer to mom before he spoke. "Love, I know we can do this...again. We've been through this many times before. We can do anything as long as we're together. Yes I know how you feel and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you Payson." He paused for a moment before quietly continuing as if he's keeping a secret just meant for him and mom. "Both of you."

_Holy shit! Does dad mean what I think he means? Oh God I think I'm gonna puke. Mom and dad...do that..._I shake my head to clear my head of unwanted thoughts and images that would surely scar me for life. I shiver in disgust before quietly walking down the hall. I almost make it to the stairs when mom walks out towards the kitchen.

"Hey Alex." Mom sounds way to happy to be trusted, so I attempt to hide the bag and broom behind my back. The effort seems useless when her dark blue eyes narrow in my direction.

"What are hiding?" Mom's stance totally changes from relaxed to guarded in seconds.

_Think quick...uh...trash...that's it." _Nothing. Just a bag for trash in my room. I'm cleaning it." _She'll buy it...hopefully. _

"Uh huh. So your cleaning your room...without me or your dad hounding you...on a weekday...for some reason I don't buy it, but I'll let it go. For now." She goes into the kitchen, but stops and makes her way back into the hall where I've made it halfway up the stairs. "Oh and Alex...if and when I find out what you're up to...mark my words Alexander I will find out...you are going to be in so much trouble, because son, you don't need a broom for your floor. Try harder to hide the broom next time."

I look at her hoping to portray dad's innocent eyes to soften her up a little. It doesn't work because she shakes her head and goes back into the kitchen. I race back upstairs to my room before I can be stopped by anyone else. Once I'm in the door Annabelle attacks me with questions.

"So did you get it? Did anyone see you?" She is back at the computer looking up God knows what, while firing questions at me left and right.

"Yea. I got it all right. Get this...mom and dad are hiding something cuz.." Annabelle interrupted me with a snort.

"Of course they're hiding something. They didn't tell us how they met or even when they really got together." She paused and pointed to the computer screen and a picture of mom kissing dad appeared. "They started dating way, way before they said they did."

I take a closer look at the picture and notice The Rock insignia in the background on the wall. "Huh. Mom looks about sixteen or seventeen in this. Besides that, she's got on some leotard thingy. So maybe they were training or something when this was taken."

Annabelle scoffed before scrolling down. "Of course they were. They probably lied to everyone about their relationship."

I shrug before taking the defensive."Come on sis. Everyone seems to be cool with them being married. I don't see what the big deal is. Besides, if they were together when he was her coach, they had to hide it for obvious reasons."

Annabelle rolled her eyes. "Yea...okay. Yea everyone is happy with them being together and whatever, but the fact still remains, they lied."

I sigh before making my way over towards the shattered lamp. "Look, just chill out. I'm sure they had their reasons. Anyway as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I think mom and dad may be hiding something...something kind of big. Literally and figuratively."

Annabelle gave me a hard look. "Stop stalling Einstein." "

I think mom may be...uh...pre...pre.." I couldn't seem to say it.

"Spit it out already Alex. Mom may be what?" Annabelle was shooting daggers at me before walking over to my bookshelf.

"Pregnant." I look down at the lamp to distract myself, but my head snaps up as I hear something else in my room shatter.

"Damn it Annabelle! Can you please not try to trash my stuff. I already broke my lamp. What did you break?" I drop the bag and make my way over to my bookshelf. I cringe when I see she shattered my glass Gymnast of The Year trophy from the previous year. I look at Annabelle to see tears in her eyes.

"I am so sorry. I jerked my hand up and it just fell. When you told me about mom I just...I am so, so sorry." She sounded so heartbroken and upset that it was difficult to be mad at her.

I heave a heavy sigh before patting her on the head. "It's okay sis. Just don't start crying on me. You know I don't do tears very well." As I pull her into a hug I hear footsteps coming closer towards the door. A few seconds later I hear the door bang open. I turn and see mom and dad in the doorway. _Could my day get any fucking worse. _

Dad scanned the room quickly. "Are you alright? We were down stairs and we heard a crash."

Since it's my room I decide to speak up. "Yea. Annabelle just knocked over something on my bookshelf. No big deal. I can clean it up real quick. No blood or injury, no foul." I glance at mom and see her eyes scan my room. I cringe and slide my eyes to Annabelle when her eyes zero in on my empty side table.

"Alexander?" Her hands are placed on her hips and her eyes are directing fire in my direction.

"Yea mom?" _Oh man, I'm done for now. I may as well start packing my bags and kissing The States goodbye and Romania hello._

"What happened to your lamp? You know, the one I'm talking about, the one I got you a few years ago for the color."

I try and think of something, but nothing comes to mind so I improvise. "Um..it's in my closet. On the shelf...at the very top, you can't see it from here, so..." I know its a lame excuse and I know I'm done for so, I just wait and see what mom does next.

"Oh. Do you not like it? Because I can take it back and get something else." As she is talking, tears spring up to her eyes. _Oh God. More tears. I've seen enough tears tonight to last a life time. I hate to see people cry, especially mom. _

I hastily think of something to say to make her feel a little better. "No mom it's not that. It's...perfect. I just needed a change. Please...don't cry...I hate to see you cry."

She waves her hand dismissively and turns towards the doorway. "I'm going to bed. I'm not feeling very well." Her voice is soft, hurt, and broken from her crying. She places her hand on dad's shoulder while she passes him. She exits the room with a soft sob.

Dad's eyes narrow in my direction. "Get the lamp and put it back on the table." I hesitate a few seconds. Apparently dad's patience in thin because his voice rose and echoed through the room. "Now!"

I cringe and glance at Annabelle. She's trying to edge out of the room, but dad's eyes turn to her next. "Where do you think you're going Annabelle?"

She groans softly before turning back to dad. "Nowhere."

"That's what I thought. Now can some one tell me what's really going on here?" Dad's demand was met quickly.

"Look me and Bells was messing around. I chucked a pillow at her and it missed. You can probably guess what happens next." Dad crosses his arms across his chest and nods for me to continue.

I sigh before continuing. "The lamp fell and shattered. Bells did actually knock something off my bookshelf."

Dad uncrossed his arms and sighed before looking between me and Annabelle. "Alright look, since you both technically lied, you both will replace the lamp your mother got you. You will tell her what happened first thing in the morning. She doesn't need to be upset right now. So you both will pay for the replacement. Understood?"

We both nod and sigh in relief that, that was all he was saying at the moment. Too bad it didn't last long.

"Now, since you both lied you're grounded." He looked between me and Annabelle. "Both of you. Annabelle, no phone and no computer for one week. Alexander one more week will be tacked on to your ever growing punishment. In the morning you both are going to go to your mother explain what actually happened and apologize. Understood?"

We both nod, but apparently that wasn't good enough for him. "I said, is that understood?"

We both jumped a little at his harsh tone before answering. "Yes."

He smirked quickly before turning serious again. "Good. Now get some sleep. You'll be up when your mother is."

As he leaves we sigh in relief. The relief is short lived when he comes back in. "Annabelle I need your phone and laptop."

I smirk as she scowls and stomps off into her room to get the things dad requested. My smirk vanishes as dad looks at me. "You to son. For one week you won't have your phone or computer either."

I scowl. "That's not fair! You have my car keys for God knows how long. You want my phone and laptop to?"

He nods, while I stomp over to my dresser. "You want to make that two weeks Alexander?"

I huff as I hand off my phone to my dad. I go over to my laptop and shut it down before handing that off to him as well.

He takes it while staring at me. "It's only fair. I'm giving you the same punishment as Annabelle. When the week is up you'll get your stuff back. The car, however, will still be in my possession."

I nod as he makes his way towards the door. He turns back quickly with a small smile on his face. "I do love you son."

I give him a small smile in return. "Love you to dad."

He makes his way out of my room while I stretch out on my bed. A few minutes later Bell walks back in. I glance up and she places herself in my desk chair. "This just blows. I can't text Aubrey, Jessica, or Nina."

I smirk before rolling my eyes. "I think you'll survive."

She shrugs before glancing around the room. "Hey you...we...still have to clean up this mess."

I sigh and get up out of my bed to help her clean up the glass. "I'm surprised mom didn't see the broken lamp. Not that it matters now, cuz she's gonna find out about it in the morning anyway."

"Yea I know. I wonder why she was so upset? I mean it's really only a lamp." Bells sweeps the glass from the bookshelf towards the bag I'm holding open for her.

"If she is pregnant...maybe higher emotions." I shrug and tie the bag and hand it to Bell so she can put it in my trash can. She takes it and puts it in the trash.

"Not sure. I just know that me and you have an apology to make in the morning. So I'm going to bed so I'll see you in the morning." Annabelle is already half way towards the door.

"Night sis. See you in the morning." I take my shirt off and go to turn off the light. Once the room is shrouded in darkness I climb into my bed for a fitful nights sleep.

AN: Yea I know, poor Alex can't seem to get a break. Every one has those days when nothing seems to go right. I figured I'd put Alex through a rough start. His days can only get better. I hope you were paying attention to ALL of the conversations in this chapter, because they are really important in future chapters. If you guys have any suggestions or comments, please as always read and review. If you want you can even PM me. Happy reading!

Translations:

mă, mă, şi eu - me, myself, and I

te şi produse alimentare - yourself and food

suav abilităţile de vorbire - suave speaking skills


	6. An Apology, An Idea, and The New Girl

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the show. All material goes to ABC Family and the creators. **

**AN: I'm introducing a new character that will be an important role in the story from here on out. Please as always read and review and let me know what you think. I want to give a big thanks to CSINYPacker for the brilliant idea they gave me. This new character is dedicated to you CSINY so I hope you enjoy this chapter...read and review if you please..:) **

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. Not that I got much sleep; my knee was throbbing all night. I open my tired eyes to see dad hovering over me. _Oh fuck...he wasn't joking when he said we would get up when mom did. _In a last ditch effort to get a few more minutes of sleep I roll over away from dad and bury my head under the pillow. A few short seconds later my pink pillow is gone along with my warm fuzzy blanket.

Dad's voice registers as a loud annoyance in my foggy brain. "Get up. Your mother is up. If she's up, you're getting up. You and your brother have an apology to make. I expect you down stairs in ten minutes. If you're not down there in ten, I'm coming back up. So let's go."

I groan as I open my eyes again to see dad looking back at me from the door. "I'm getting up. Right now." I sigh when I hear him go into Alex's room. I swing my feet over the bed and step onto the cold hardwood floor. I wince when pain shoots through my knee as I stand up. I walk over to my closet and grab my pink and gray leotard with the matching warmups. I make my way towards the bathroom only to be stopped by Alex. He is already dressed in his work out clothes for the day and he's also towering over me like Hagrid would Harry, if giants and wizards could actually exist. I glance up at him to see him glaring at me.

"What do you want? Dad just woke me up so could you please move?" I try to be calm and rational, only because I know if we get into it, mom would hear us and as dad said last night 'she doesn't need to be upset right now.'

He crosses his arms across his chest. Funny, he kind of looks like dad. "You know exactly what I want. You need to tell mom and dad your knee is still bothering you. If you just tweaked it, it shouldn't still be hurting."

I turn my eyes up towards his dark ones. "No way. I am not saying a thing to them about it. You won't either. I'm not going down there and saying 'Mom I'm sorry for last night. Oh by the way, I think I messed up my knee, training yesterday.' No way. Dad would go nuts and be overprotective and mom would panic and hover. I am not dealing with them. I can handle it. So just butt-out."

He sighs before snapping out a retort. "Fine, but don't came crying to me when you can't do gymnastics anymore...oh wait you won't. You'll be jumping for joy, cuz...I forgot, you don't want to be a gymnast anymore." He paused before looking back at me with narrowed eyes. "Hold on. You're not trying to hurt yourself are you? So you don't have to explain to them why you want to quit."

I speak through gritted teeth. "You have no idea what you're talking about Alex. I still want to do gymnastics. I will be a champion even if it's the last thing I do."

Alex raises his hands in defense as he backs up down the hallway. "Chill. I was just stating my personal opinion. I'll see you downstairs."

I watch him as he goes downstairs towards the kitchen. I sigh as I make my way into the bathroom. I'm showered and dressed in just under ten minutes. I'm walking down the stairs when dad is walking up them.

"Oh good. I was just coming up to get you. Your mother is in the kitchen." I looked at dad briefly before walking past him. I make my way downstairs to see Alex stalling in the hallway. He turns around and is gazing at me before his eyes flicker towards the stairs. I turn, following his gaze, only to meet identical light blue eyes staring back at us. Dad motions for us to go into the kitchen and start apologizing. I sigh before turning back to Alex.

"We should go and get this over with. I think she's just starting to get breakfast ready so...let's just go in." I pause waiting for Alex to go in first. When he doesn't I scoff at him while shoving past him. _What a freaking pansy. If he won't go in first, I guess I will. _

Once I walk into the kitchen, I feel Alex hovering behind me. I see mom at the fridge grabbing stuff she needs to make omelets with. I breath in deeply before breaking the tense silence.

"Mom?" She turns from the counter and looks back at me with tired eyes. I feel a small pang of guilt in knowing Alex and I are probably what caused her restless night.

"Annabelle. Alex. What are you guys doing up this early? It's Saturday. You don't have to be at the gym until around 10:00." She even sounds tired.

I was about to speak, but Alex beat me to it. "Look mom, we just wanted to...we..." Alex stopped speaking seemingly at a loss for words. I sigh before speaking and trying to salvage the apology.

"I think what Alex is trying to get at here is, we're sorry for last night. We're sorry for lying to you and we're sorry for breaking the lamp." I release a long breath, before glancing up at Alex.

To my surprise, he has a tear in his eye. "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings mom. It was an accident...the lamp I mean. I'm sorry. Annabelle was just a by-standard so it really wasn't her fault. If you're mad at someone then be mad at me, not Annabelle. I'm the one who broke the lamp, not her."

Mom blinks back tears before speaking softly in a tired voice. "It's not the lamp I'm upset about Alexander. It's the fact that you lied to me about it. Both of you did because not speaking up is just as bad as lying. It hurts to know that you would lie to me about something so small. What if it was a bigger issue. Would you lie about that to?"

Alex's facial expression changes from apologetic to furious and back again within seconds. "Mom, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to upset you or lie to you. We just didn't want to hurt your feelings. I'll pay for the lamp and do whatever you want. Just so you know we're sorry and it won't happen again."

Mom sighs and walks over to both of us so we're only a foot or so apart. "I know you're sorry. I can see it in your eyes. I appreciate your apology." Mom's eyes flicker to me before speaking again. "Both of you. Just know that you can trust me to help you. That's what mom's are for." She pulls each of us into a hug before releasing us. "Now that, that is settled you both can help with breakfast."

I look to see Alex smile slightly before walking to the counter. As always he's acting like an arrogant, cocky two year old. He's tossing the eggs from one hand to the other. I knew it was going to happen even before it did. On the third toss of one of the eggs, Alex fumbles it and it smashes to the ground. A few seconds later Mom turns around and is staring at him.

"Son, I said help make breakfast not demolish it." Mom tossed Alex a paper towel to clean up the mess he made.

He bent down and swiped the floor and a few seconds later was walking towards the trash can. He stood at the counter probably hoping mom didn't have anything for him to do. Unfortunately mom noticed him not doing anything.

"Alex since you broke an egg stay away from the food. You can, however, set out the plates. Bells, honey, you can help me with these omelets. We'll get done quicker." Mom was giving out directions and to help Alex and I followed them.

About half an hour later the food was on plates and Alex and I was sitting at the table with the rest of the family. We all seemed to grab food at the same time. Alex and I both reached for the ketchup bottle, but me being a second quicker grabbed it first.

As always Alex protested. "No fair. I'm older, I have first dibs."

I glared and open my mouth to make a snide comment, but dad beats me to it with a warning glare and low tone. "Alex don't start. She a young lady and should be treated as such. Now zip it and eat. You'll get the ketchup when she's done."

I smirk as he slumped back in his chair and started sulking. When I'm done, I toss him the bottle and laugh when he fumbles it.

"What's the matter bro. Losing your touch?" I smirk at him when he glares at me.

"Actually no sis. I'm an elite gymnast, not some ball player. I don't need to have good catching skills." He pours some of the condiment on his plate and passes it to dad.

"Can you guys go one whole day, twenty-four hours, of no arguing or fighting with each other? Or at least act like siblings?" We turned to see dad glaring at us and we both knew he wasn't just asking a question. He was telling us to can it in a polite roundabout way.

"Sure dad. Annabelle and I promise to be more...respectful and...loving towards one another." Alex was agreeing, so he wouldn't get in trouble. Me on the other hand just glared in Alex's general direction.

Dad's blue eyes was smoldering and radiating authority and parental concerns. "Well you two had best starting acting more your age because there's going to be a few changes in the next few months so either you get your acts together or there will be consequences. I just don't know what it has been with you two lately. You're normally not like this."

We both roll our eyes when dad turns his attention to his food. After the food is mostly gone to appease both mom and dad, Alex and I agree to clean up the kitchen. Not only to try and prove something to dad, but to help out mom. When everyone is out of the kitchen I turn to Alex.

"Okay first we clean the kitchen, then we go to my room until 9:30. We have to be at the gym by 10:00 so dad will probably want to leave around then. I cleaned the table and stuff off last night, so to be fair _bro, _you get that job this time." I walk over to the sink and am surprised when Alex just starts working.

A few minutes later I'm sprawled out on my bed and Alex is in my lime green beanbag chair. Alex breaks the silence with an unexpected question.

"So I wonder what these so called changes are going to be. Dad seemed so sure of them and pretty positive that they were happening." Alex directed his eyes towards the ceiling.

I contemplate the question a few minutes before giving an answer. "I'm not sure. Maybe mom is pregnant and they're not saying anything for certain reasons. Maybe their scared how we'll react."

"I doubt it. If mom's pregnant there is no undoing it. Unless of course something were to happen. Which I don't think there is. Anyway, how do we know she's pregnant anyway?" Alex sat up straight and leaned forward with a thoughtful expression.

I glare at him before stating the obvious. "Well for one you're the one who said you heard mom and dad talking and dad's comment has me believing she might be pregnant. Besides, yesterday I went to talk with her in the medic room when I hurt my knee. She had something, but dropped it pretty quick when she saw me. She left for a few minutes and I obviously went to see what it was. It was a pregnancy test."

Alex's mouth was agape and his eyes wide. He shook himself out of his little world quickly to make his own accusations. "Right. So based off all that you think she might be...uh..pregnant. Damn it, I wish dad hadn't taken your laptop to. We could look up the symptoms of pregnancy and have more ground and info to go from. I feel like I'm walking blind here." He paused for a minute and then suddenly his eyes lit up. "We do have access to a computer sis. Hello, The Rock's computer."

I smile, before realization comes to mind. "Loved the idea for about two seconds. The Rock's computer is practically untouchable. It's in mom and dad's office. If we get caught on it, you aren't going to be the only one having a little family reunion with dear grandpa."

Alex slumped back in his soft chair with a big sigh. "Fuck...wait a minute. They aren't in the office all the time. We can sneak up in the office when they're out and about, search what we want for a moment and slip back outside. No one has to know."

I sigh and lay back on my bed. _We could..._" It's really risky though, but I'm a Belov and Belov's don't get scared easily. So I'm in. We just need to plan this carefully and not do it today because we both have been in enough trouble with mom and dad. Hell if they fess up we won't even have to do anything. So okay bro. I love the idea."

We smirk at each other before I glance at the clock which reads 9:15. "We should start heading downstairs. I don't want to give dad another reason to breath down our necks."

Alex follows close behind as we make our way down the hall. I stop as I hear someone in the bathroom. Alex rams into me, but catches me before I have a chance to fall flat on my ass.

"Why'd you stop?" Alex's breath tickles my ear. I turn towards him and put my finger to my lips to try and tell him to be quiet. After a few minutes we both hear coughing sounds coming from the bathroom. After a few seconds later the coughing turns to heaving. Alex's face is a grimace as he tries to edge past me. I put my arm up to his chest to stop his cowardice exit.

"Not so fast. Maybe they're really sick. I'll check to see who it is, while you try and find mom or dad." He nods and quickly walks down the steps.

I approach the door and knock softly. After a few seconds the door swings open. I'm surprised to see both mom and dad exiting.

"Um...sorry...I thought that some one was sick and just...sorry." I stammer out an apology and try to go down the stairs, but dad stops me.

"Bell, just, don't worry about it. Your mom, just isn't feeling well." I turn to look at mom and notice that what dad says is true. Mom is pale and tired looking. She's being supported by dad's arms around her shoulders and across her tummy. It's almost like he's holding her together.

I move forward to hug her briefly. "I hope you feel better mom." I feel her nod against my head as I slowly release her back to dad.

"Do good at practice today Bells. Please don't hurt yourself." Even when mom is sick she still worries.

I smile lightly. "I will mom. I promise I'll be careful."

I turn towards dad and notice him smiling lightly at mom. _For mom being sick, he seems kind of happy. _"I'll see you downstairs dad. Alex and I are ready to go whenever you are." I see him nod as I make my way downstairs.

Alex is leaning against the entryway when I make it downstairs. "It was mom who was hacking up. Dad's with her now. He'll be down in a few minutes I think."

Alex nods as he picks up his gym bag off the floor. I hear some one coming down the stairs. I blink when Nicky and Catalina are following dad. "Since your mom isn't feeling well, Nicky and Lina are going to your grandparents house while we're at The Rock. So we're taking your mothers car." I smirk when I hear dad's voice at having to drive mom's car. He hates driving big cars and that is exactly what mom's car is: big, heavy, and awesome.

After Nicky and Lina are dropped off at Grandma Kim's, we head straight for The Rock. Once there Alex and I head into the building to start our day of training. When we go to the mats to stretch I notice a new face in our 'Rock Family'. I quickly abandon Alex and his hot friend Josh, and go straight towards my group of friends. Leanne, Aubrey, and Nina are by the beam stretching out there legs. I join them as I stretch as well. I turn to Aubrey for an explanation.

"Who is that girl flipping insane moves on the floor?" I ask Aubrey because she's the one in the know for gossip. She turns her brunet head towards me and shrugs.

"No idea, but whoever she is, she's good." She pauses to witness the new girl do a series of flips and twists before turning her green eyes towards me again. "Really good."

"Damn. What numskull decided to bring an older girl in the fold this late into the preparations for the Olympics?" I whisper as the entrance swings open. I stare wide eyed as my dad walks over to the new girl and greets her with a smile and a hand shake.

"No freaking way. Your dad brought her here?" I stare as dad leads her into the office.

I gaze at my three friends as I push aside my competitive side. "Look, whoever she is, we have to treat her properly. We give her a warm Rock Girl welcome."

After a few minutes of stretching the office door swings open. My dad and the new girl stand on the small deck. Dad's voice booms throughout the whole gym, bringing everything to a grinding halt.

"Everyone gather round. I want to introduce you to your new team member. This is Katrina Walsh. Now I expect each and everyone of you to give her a warm Rock welcome. I expect you all to make her feel welcome." As soon as dad's introduction speech is out of the way him and Katrina make there way towards us.

"Katrina you can work with these three ladies today. You are at their level so you should fit right in with this group." Dad turns from Katrina to look towards us. "Now you four make sure she stretches out and help her today. Show her the ropes today."

Dad looks at me expectantly. _It sucks sometimes being the daughter of the coach. _As always I step forward and introduce myself first. I extend my hand for her to shake it firmly.

"Hi. I'm Annabelle." I look towards everyone else and they follow suit.

After the awkward introductions is out of the way we continue our training with the new girl at The Rock. _This is going to be an interesting development in our little 'family.' _


	7. Katrina and Guy Talk

As I watch the new girl preform different stunts, flips, and moves that only a powerhouse gymnast can do, Josh and I try to stretch and warmup for practice. Josh is intently staring at the new girl, while I try and get some work done. Of course Josh being Josh, breaks through my concentration and tries to make small talk.

"Dude, that girl is freaking hot. Look at the way she moves. I would love for her to move like that for me." Josh's voice trails off as I stare at him.

"So what...she's hot. She probably has a bitchy attitude to match. She's just another girl trying to make the cut for the Olympic Team." I roll my eyes and start stretching my arms.

Josh looks at me and scoffs. "Dude are you blind? Do you not know what a hot girl looks like?"

I laugh and nod. "Yea I know what a hot girl looks like. I'm just not interested in someone who acts like a bitch. Just because she's good looking, doesn't mean she's good for you." I try and stretch my leg, but Josh won't give up.

"Bro, you haven't uttered a single word to her. You can't just say she's bitchy if you haven't even talked to her." Josh continued ogling the gymnast across the room.

"No I can read people well. I get that from my dad, at least that's what I'm told anyway." I shrug and try to drop the subject. I hear Josh groan softly as his eyes flicker behind me. I turn to him to ask him what the hell he's groaning and look at me like that for, when I feel a familiar presence behind me.

"This isn't some party where you stand around and gossip like girls. It's a gym. Now, get to work!" My dad's voice is like a bucket of ice water being dumped over our heads. Josh and I jump just slightly and nod quickly before going in different directions: him to rings and me to parallel bars.

The morning practice passes by in a blur. The only time Josh and I can talk is when we both are are at the water cooler or chalk bowl and even then dad is hovering, watching our every movement. By the time lunch comes around I'm sore and starving. I walk past Annabelle and her group of friends as the new girl approaches them. I feel a hand on my shoulder and sense that it's Annabelle. She yanks me closer before I have a chance to break free.

I sigh and glance down to look her in the eyes. "Look, Bells, can this just wait? Since I don't have the car courtesy of dad, I need to get to Josh and Matt, before they bail and I'm without food."

She rolls her eyes. "This will only take a minute," She directs her gaze towards the new girl and gestures to her, "this is Katrina. Katrina this is Alexander. He's one of our top male gymnasts here, although his bark is worse than his bite."

I scowl at Annabelle as her friends and Katrina giggle. I look towards Katrina and extend my hand. I smile as she takes it. I can't help, but notice her hands are rougher than I expected. "I'm Alexander, but Alex is fine. Don't let my sister tell you stories about me quite yet."

She smiles softly, before her gray eyes widen slightly. "The two of you are related?"

I open my mouth to answer, but Annabelle beats me to it. "Unfortunately. I tend to not claim him most of the time though."

My eyes narrow, but soften as I meet Katrina's gaze. "Yea she's my kid sister. Annoying, but I still love her."

Katrina smiles before speaking. "That's sweet. So any word of advice on how to handle the coach? I hear he's tough."

I smirk before answering. "Yes he's tough alright, but he's fair and helpful. He knows what he's doing obviously since he's coached a lot of champions since late 2000. Twenty-eight years of coaching can help a lot I guess. I have to admit, he's one of the best coaches in the circuit and has been for awhile. Just be respectful, take his advice, listen, and don't under any circumstances do anything to tick him off. Whether that's at home or in the gym, cuz if you do something he's got ways of finding out. If you do that then you can't go wrong." My heart leaps surprisingly at seeing her pearly white teeth and plump pink lips form in a smile. I smile back as I feel eyes boring into the back of my head.

"Funny, you should take your own advice son. You need to be back here by one and it's already twelve thirty so I suggest you get going if you want to eat." Dad's voice was low and to my surprise teasing. I nod and look back towards Katrina who now has a look of shock on her face.

"You okay? You seem kinda freaked out." _Why the hell am I worrying so much for? It's not like she's my girlfriend or something._

"He said son. Are you two," Katrina motioned between me and Annabelle swiftly, "related to the coach?"

I cringe and meet her gray eyes. "Not only do we get to see him here at the gym, we get the pleasure of seeing him at home. We don't just call him coach, we call him dad to. It's a gift as well as a curse I suppose." I glance towards the clock on the wall and look back at Annabelle and her friends. "I hate to leave," I glance towards Katrina and wink, "but if I don't leave now, I'll miss my chance at getting lunch. Dear old dad swiped my car keys until further notice. I will see you around though." I wink one last time at Katrina and smirk when she smiles back.

Josh and Matt are leaning against the wall as I exit the gym. Matt's impatient voice cuts through my daze. "It's about freaking time their buddy. We almost left without you."

I shrug and shove Matt towards his car. "You wouldn't leave me. You know I'd hit you when you guys got back. Besides I've waited for you longer than ten minutes before so I don't want to hear it. Let's just get the hell out of here, we have to be back by one-thirty."

Once we pile in Matt's red Cherokee Jeep we head to the Pizza Shack. We find a small booth in the corner so it's quiet and secluded. We all place in our orders and wait for our food. As always when we have nothing to do we gossip like girls.

"So what took you so long to come outside anyway? When food is concerned you're pretty prompt Alex." Josh looked at me and smirked when he saw my face go a little red.

"Well I finally met Katrina." I can't help, but sound a little smug about meeting the new girl first.

"Katrina? The new girl." Matt sounded ready to fire questions at me.

I roll my eyes and smirk. " Yes the new girl. I tell you man she is even more hot up close. She has these amazing gray eyes; shiny straight black hair; and beautiful kissable lips..."

"Sounds like you like Ms. New Girl. You were the one to say she's hot, but she probably has a bitchy attitude. So what did you find out about her?"

I glare at Josh before speaking. "Well I just found out her name and told her me and Annabelle was the coaches kids. I didn't really get a chance to ask anything, because I had to rush to meet you two bozos."

Josh shrugs before speaking. "You didn't have to come you know. You could have just stayed and talk with Ms. Katrina if you wanted."

I glare at Josh and Matt. "Dude, I was hungry and I need to eat because who knows what I get for dinner. Since mom is sick we'll probably get take out."

"You're mom is sick? I noticed she wasn't at the gym today. I figured it had to be something because she's always there coaching along side your dad. The Belov Coaching Team is what everyone calls them at competitions and stuff." Matt speaks for the first time since we got here.

"Yea. Me and Bells have our suspicions about that situation," I pause as the waiter brings us our food, "we think it's more than just the average flu or cold, but that's a story for another time. Let's eat since our food is here." I try and direct the conversation away from me and on to other things throughout the meal. Before we know it it's one-fifteen and we rush out the door and head back towards the gym.

When I go inside the gym I notice mom standing with dad next to the floor. I smile at her and notice she looks about ten times better than she did this morning. _Maybe she was just tired and needed the extra sleep or something. _I glance towards Annabelle and notice she's probably thinking the same thing. I smile when I catch Katrina standing next to my sister. I wink at Katrina and smirk when Bells scowls in my directions. _Looks like Bells and Trina are friends now, since she scowled at me...whoa man slow down with the name shortage...Katrina not Trina...I swear man I am so freaking losing it. _

I walk over to the rings and stretch out my arms and legs. After a few minutes devoted to stretching I head over to the chalk bowl where coincidentally, Katrina is preparing herself for the uneven bars.

I take my chance and whisper to her. "So how's my sister and her friends treating you?"

She looks at me and smiles. "Very welcoming. Your sister has been really helpful. So has Aubrey and Leanne. Nina, not so much."

I scowl and realize I'm going to have to tell my sisters' friend Nina to chill. _Whoa protective much? _"Don't let Nina get to you. She despises competition and hates it when someone is better then her. You should take it as a complement if you and Nina aren't getting along. Her bark is a helluva lot worse than her bite. She's practically harmless."

She smirks before meeting my gaze. "Thank you. For the complement and the advice from earlier about the coach."

"It's not a problem. I know what it's like to be dealing with new people. When I first started training at The Rock I had no idea what I was up against. Even though my parents are.."

Katrina cuts me off when an edge in her voice. "Gymnastics Royalty?" I look at her confused. "Yea every one knows about your parents. The stories revolving around them were explosive and legend. Some may even say scandalous."

I furrow my eyebrows and glare at her. My glare turns to a smirk when I realize I may have the upper hand. "It's not really fair that you know apparently, everything, about my parents when I know nothing of yours."

She gives me a smirk in return. "Well then Belov, I guess you'll have to ask me about them sometime, won't you?"

I grin and nod my head. "I guess I will."

Our chat is cut short when both mom and dad step onto the deck outside their office. Katrina and I glance up and I cringe when I see dad looking at me. "This isn't some dating opportunity for you." We both pause for a moment. The pause must have been what broke dad's patience because his voice rang throughout the whole gym. "Do I have to light a fire under your asses? Get to work!"

Katrina and I glance at each other and go our separate ways for the rest of the day. Once the clock reads three-thirty we are released for the day. I throw all of my stuff in my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I notice Katrina walking with my sister. I jog across the gym, ignoring the smirks from Josh and Matt, to get to Katrina before she goes into the locker room.

"Katrina wait up!" I sigh in relief as she turns around and walks towards me. "Look I want to continue our talk from earlier. I can give you my number now, but I can't exactly talk or text for about a week."

At noticing her confused expression I rush to give her the basics. "Long story short, my dad took my phone and computer because of a little mishap with me and the speed limit. I have a ticket to pay off and they figured a ticket wasn't enough punishment. Therefore I don't have a phone until Sunday night."

She smirks before grinning widely. "So you're a bad ass...well we can always talk at lunch tomorrow if you want?"

My heart rate picks up and I smile. "Definitely. I can have lunch with you tomorrow. We can talk and stuff then." I glance around and notice we are the only ones left in the gym, besides my parents. "Look I'll let you go, but we'll talk tomorrow."

She nodded enthusiastically and makes her way into the locker room. Before she enters all the way she looks over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Gonzalez."

I grin and wink at her before walking back towards the mats, waiting for Bells to come out. It dawns on me that I have no idea what the hell Gonzalez means. After putting that at the back of my mind for later I glance up at the office and notice my parents talking animatedly with smiles on their faces. I walk up to the deck and see if I can hear anything. As luck would have it the door is cracked just enough to where I can hear them clearly.

My mom's voice cuts through the silence joyfully. "Sasha I can't believe it. I can't wait to tell the kids. I bet they'll be so excited."

Dad laughs softly before responding in a gentle tone. "I can. It's a miracle love. We were told we couldn't...you couldn't go through this again, but look at you...look at us. We've proved them wrong; you've proved them wrong. I'm sure the kids will be just as excited and happy about this as I am. I can't wait until tonight so we can tell them. Maybe this is what Alex and Bells needs to straighten up and act their age."

Mom sighs and her voice is somewhat muffled. "Yea maybe. Either way I'm ecstatic about this. We did this, together."

"Yea love. Together, just like always. Look it's about three-forty five the kids should be ready to go. If you want you can leave the car and we can all ride in your car." Dad's voice has a certain protective edge to it.

"That would be great. We can pick up Lina and Nicky and then head home. We can have take out, because I didn't feel well, up until around one-thirty or so. Then after that we can tell them the news."

I push myself off the wall and backtrack to make it look like I just come out of the locker room. Thankfully my parents buy the charade. As I walk up to mom and dad, Bells is coming out of the locker room.

"Good you're all set to go. We're going to pick up Lina and Nicky, then we're going to get Chinese to take home because your mom isn't up to cooking tonight. Think of what you want to eat, that way we aren't waiting around all night to get what we want." I smirk as I think about what dad just said. _He doesn't want to wait to tell us the news that him and mom have is what it is. _I'm pulled from my thoughts when Annabelle shoves me forward. I scowl at her before I walk to the car. I spot Katrina get into her silver car before driving out of the parking lot.

"If you're done staring bro, you might want to get in the car so we can go." I shake my head and get in the back of the SUV before she can grate on me some more. I choose to ignore her and her snide comments on the way home. I don't have the patience to deal with her and I don't want to get into trouble with mom and dad...again. I sigh in relief as we finally pull into the garage.

As I walk into the house with my sisters and brother trailing after me, I can't help, but feel that there is about to be some major changes in our house. As I make my way into the dinning room I take my usual seat and wait for everyone else to join me. When everyone else is settled and situated I know that we are starting a family evening that will change all of our lives.

**A/N: Well this is the next chapter in my universe. Please tell me what you thought of Katrina (what you make of her so far that is, because there will be more where she is concerned). There will be drama in the near future. Family drama, friend drama, and life drama. So please read and review and let me know what you guys think. **


	8. Happy Hour of Changes

As I heave a sigh I throw myself on the couch. Alex trudges in behind me propping his feet up on the coffee table once he sits down. Nicholas and Catalina are in their rooms for some odd reason. I look at Alex and the look on his face is pure boredom.

"Why the long face? It's not like we have anything better to do than hear what mom and dad have to say. Our phones and laptops are gone for the week, well at least until Sunday." I try getting Alex talking, but he won't budge. He just shrugs his shoulders. "Fine. I figured that since you hit it off really well with Katrina you'd be in a better mood."

I grin when I notice hearing Katrina's name makes him smile. "Finally some sort of response. I thought you were ignoring me."

He sighs before turning towards me. "No I'm not ignoring you. I'm just wondering why mom and dad want to talk with us. Alone."

"It's not like we can't figure it out. It's kind of obvious why they want to talk to us, based on what we've put together in the last couple of days. So maybe we won't have to sneak in the office like we planned. Thank God." I glance around the room waiting for mom and dad's entrance.

We didn't have to wait too long, because about five minutes later they walked in the room. I try to decipher their mood and expressions, but come up empty. Dad and mom take the love seat across from the couch that Alex are I are occupying. From the looks on their faces and from their relaxed posture it looks like we're going to be here awhile.

As always dad is the first one to speak and take charge of this little "Happy Hour". The hard voice I'm used to hearing at the gym is replaced with the soft voice of a father. "Son, feet off the table."

Alex immediately takes his feet of the mahogany table that separates me and Alex from mom and dad. Once his feet is firmly on the ground, dad continues. "I'm sure you both are wondering what this is about. Well it's about a few things actually. Your behavior towards each other for one and your mother and I have some news." I glance up at Alex and see him looking at mom and dad with raised eyebrows.

He cuts in to dad's little introduction with a question. "First off why isn't Nicky and Lina here? They're part of this family to."

Dad raises his eyebrows in return. "Well we already told them the news that your mom and I will get to shortly." At noticing Alex's put out expression dad jumps on and explains the reasons. "Only because your mom and I felt that it had to be explained to them individually. You two will get it I'm sure, but Nicky and Lina are still really little." Alex nods and dad continues.

"As we've said before, the attitude around this house as of late needs to change and needs to change now. We don't know what it is with you two lately. You two have always gotten along and looked out for each other. Now it's as if you're battling and trying to outdo the other on a daily basis. That's not good for you and it's not good for the rest of us. Your mother especially."

"Not to be a jerk or try to sound uncaring, but why mom especially dad? Me and Annabelle haven't been the only ones acting different lately. The two of you are more..." Alex trailed off trying for the appropriate term to use.

I jumped in and supplied it for him. "Affectionate I think is what he's trying to get at. Publicly affectionate is what he's meaning." I look over and Alex nods his agreement.

"Yea that's it. Affectionate. Not only that, mom is really emotional and your more...well, more edgy I guess." I take a look at mom and notice that she has tears in her eyes that she's refusing to let fall.

Dad glances over at mom and takes her hand in his smiling softly. "I think that if we tell you our news, you'll be able to understand the changes in us better." Dad puts his arm around mom's shoulders and picks her hand back up intertwining their fingers. They look at each other, smiling, before they both turn towards us again with light eyes and big grins. At this point Alex goes tense as if he knows what they're about to say. As always, he breaks the silence and tells us all what's on his little mind.

"Oh God. No, please no. I'm begging you. Anything, but that. Don't tell me that there's going to be a squealing, squawking, baby in the house again." Alex runs a nervous hand through his hair as if to prepare himself for the inevitable 'yes' from mom or dad.

Dad glares at Alex quickly before taking a deep breath. "No there's not going to be a squealing, squawking, baby in the house," I'm surprised at the disappointed feeling, that settles in my chest. _I guess I won't have a baby brother or sister after all. _I notice Alex's big sigh of relief at dad's uttered sentence. The relief only lasts for a couple of seconds, as dad continues on. "but there will be two beautiful, healthy babies in the house again."

I squeal and rush over to hug mom and dad while Alex stays on the couch. After I hug mom and dad I go back over and sit next to Alex. He's rigid and staring at mom and dad with wide eyes. "Two? Two? Not one, but two. That's two crying babies in the middle of the night. Two squealing babies in the day. Oh God. Let's just say, I'm going to be at The Rock 24/7."

Dad gives Alex a harsh glare before cutting into his mini tirade. "First of Alexander, I know that it's two, I've seen the pictures your mother gave me. Second, your four year old sister acted more mature than you're acting when we told her. So zip it. You will not move in at The Rock to get away from your family. There's more to life than gymnastics. There's a whole other world outside gymnastics; a whole other life full of opportunities. Besides, your mother is going to need help around the house since she is having twins. It's going to be hard on her. So that means you two are going to be stepping it up. Understand?"

Alex and I nod as dad leans back into the loveseat. "Good. Now that, that's settled and you now know the changes that's around the corner, any questions?" Alex and I shake our heads briefly. "Alright you guys can go then. Get to bed soon, because we have an early morning practice tomorrow."

Alex hugs mom and says something to her and goes over to hug dad before going up the stairs. I glance up to make sure he's left before I turn to mom and dad who are still sitting comfortably on the couch. They smile at me before I take a deep breath. _It's now or never Bells. You may as well do this, while it's just the three of us. _"Can I talk to you guys for a second?"

Mom glances up and smiles. "Sure honey. We always have time for you. You don't ever have to ask to talk."

I smile softly and take a deep breath. I look at dad and see my own eyes staring back at me. What I'm about to say, may hurt my dad. I know that mom will probably understand, but dad not so much. "It's actually about gymnastics."

I inwardly cringe when dad's eyes light up. _Dad always says it's best to get to the point. So blunt and to the point Bells. _"I don't think I want to be a gymnast anymore."

Mom looks somewhat shocked while dad looks hurt. My heart sinks when I see tears in his eyes, but I'm grateful he's being strong and holding them back. Dad is the one to break the tense silence.

My heart feels like lead when his soft broken voice registers through my mind. "Are you sure Bells? I mean really sure?"

I nod. "Yea. I've thought about this a lot in the last few days. Weeks really. I look at what I'm missing out on and I want to be a part of that. I want to be me and have my own dream. Daddy...I don't want to live your dream," I pause briefly to look at mom "or yours mom. I want to have my own dream. I want a normal life: high school, Prom, hanging out with friends that's not from the gym. I want you as mom and dad. Not as my coach or agent or anything related to the sport of gymnastics." I pause to see if either of them have something to say. I look at mom and notice she has tear stained cheeks.

Mom gets up from the loveseat and comes to wrap her arms around me. "Honey, no matter what you do, you'll always be our little girl. No matter what you do in life, whether it's gymnastics or just school, we'll always be proud of you."

I stare at dad as I hug mom and can't help, but feel he's disappointed and upset. His gaze is directed at the floor and where he's looking, there are small tears stains on the carpet indicating that he is in fact crying. I pull out of mom's embrace and go over to sit next to dad.

I place my small hand on his large shoulder to let him know of my close presents. My voice is softer than I expected. "Daddy?"

He looks up, faces me, and smiles softly before pulling me in to his strong embrace. "Sweetheart, no matter what you'll always be my little girl. No matter what you do I'll always be proud of you."

"So you're not mad?" I hold my breath anticipating his answer.

He pulls away and looks me in the eyes. Light blue locks light blue and the connection only a father and daughter would understand is ignited. "Listen to me Annabelle. I could never be mad at you for wanting to follow your own dream. Your not me or your mom. If being a normal teenager instead of an Olympian is what you really want, then I'm okay with that. As long as your happy, safe, and healthy I have nothing to be upset about."

I sigh in relief as I pull back away from him and settle in the soft couch. "Good. I just wanted to talk to you guys about it and see what you guys had to say."

"Honey, while your dad is at the gym tomorrow with Alex, I can take you to the high school and get you registered and set up for classes. I know that it will be a little hard starting so late in the year, but with your homeschooling, you'll be just fine." Mom got up and hugged me one last time before heading towards the stairs. "I'm heading up to bed. I'll see you in the morning Bell." Mom looks over her shoulder and raises an eyebrow and winks at dad before going up the stairs.

Dad shakes his head as if he's trying to clear his thought before looking at me. "Well it's getting kind of late so I think I'll turn in to. You should get to bed Bells, you have a big day ahead of you."

I smirk before nodding and following him up the stairs. I watch as he goes into the master bedroom and smirk again when I hear the lock click ensuring no interruptions. After a couple of seconds I find my way across the hall into Alex's room.

"Hey bro." Alex jumps slightly before turning towards me.

"Hey sis. So I noticed you didn't come up when I did. You talk to mom and dad?" Alex raises his eyebrows questioningly.

I roll my eyes and make my way to his bed and plop myself in the center of it. I smirk when he rolls his eyes. "Yes. I told them about me wanting to quit gymnastics. Mom seemed to take it in stride, dad seemed kind of sad. Although he wouldn't admit it. It was sad, I think he was trying to keep his tears in so he wouldn't upset me."

Alex sighed and patted my shoulder. "Yea well at least you told them and they're not mad or upset. I knew they wouldn't be, but still it's hard telling your parents that you don't want to do the sport that they loved when they was our age."

"Yea. Mom is going to take me to the high school tomorrow so she can register me for classes and what not. If everything goes okay, I'll be able to start next week." I can't help, but sound excited.

Alex smirks before getting surprisingly serious. "I'm not going to lie sis, it's going to be weird not seeing you at the gym. It won't be the same. Katrina will miss you. She was starting to like you I think."

"How is it that you know more about Katrina then I do? Considering I was the one to work with her most of the day." I look and notice he's grinning.

"It's my charm and good looks. Not to mention I can pull of a wicked British accent if I want to." I laugh and then my eyes grow wide as I jump of the bed.

"Oh my gosh. I almost forgot. I have something for you. It's in my room, I'll go grab it real fast." I rush out to get the small piece of paper that I'm sure Alex will thank me for a million times.

I rush back in and hand it to him. He takes it wordlessly and looks at it. "It's Katrina's number. She mentioned something about you and her doing something for lunch tomorrow and she wanted you to have the number just in case something come up or you just wanted it. I told her I'd give it to you."

He looks up and has a big smile on his face. "Thanks Bells. I owe you one. Big time." He places her number on his bedside table before looking back at me. "Not to change the subject, but what do you think of mom and her...situation?"

"I'm exstatic actually. I guess talking about it between you and me is a whole lot different than hearing it come from mom and dad's mouth. I still can't believe your reaction. You went completely numb and dumb." I smirk when he rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Yea well, I kind of felt numb and dumb for a minute. It's cool though. I'm happy for them. I mean mom and dad are right, it's going to be really different around the house in a few months. Twins. Man talk about a lot of crying and squawking. I'll be lucky if I don't go insane from it all. I don't do tears." Alex lounges back on his bed as I make my way to the door.

"Well I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. Obviously. Well I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow so, I guess I'll see you when you come home from the gym tomorrow night." I turn to look back at Alex and see he's smiling.

"Yea I'll see you tomorrow night then. Man that sounds really weird. I'll tell your little friends you said hello. You want me to tell them about the gymnastics thing or not?"

"No. I'll tell them sometime. I'm sure they'll stop by eventually when they notice I'm not at the gym. Night bro."

"Night sis." I close the door with a soft click and head across the hall to my room.

I flick on the light and walk towards my dresser and pull out my pink and gray pj's. I quickly change into them before climbing into bed. I grab my big teddy bear and turn off the light. No matter how hard I try to turn my brain off, it won't shut off. My mind wonders to my decision concerning gymnastics, to mom and her pregnancy, and finally to dad and his expression when I said I was wanting to quit gymnastics. Every time I close my eyes I see dad's broken expression he had when he though I couldn't see him. I heave a sigh and throw the blankets off of me and throw my legs over the side of the bed. I walk out of my room towards the master bedroom. I stop outside the door with my fist raised about to knock. The noises on the other side of the door make me rethink the decision. When I hear mom moan out dad's name I shiver repulsively and back track towards my room. I pause at my door when I notice Alex leaning on his door frame. My eyes narrow in his direction.

"What?"

Alex raises his hands in defense before answering. "I guess you found out what mom and dad are up to. A rule of thumb sis: never ever go towards the master bedroom when they are both in there. You never know what you're going to find."

I cringe. "Or hear for that matter."

Alex laughs before turning back towards his room. "Night sis. For real this time. No tip toeing around the house."

I laugh softly before glancing over my shoulder to look at him. "Yea. Night Alex."

As my hand goes on the doorknob Alex's voice stops me. "I love you Bells."

I smile at him softly before nodding. "I love you to Alex."

I make my way into my room and shut the door. I'm finally under my covers in the warmth they provide me. I look towards the clock and groan when the red numbers read 11:30. I roll over on my side and try to get to sleep.

**AN: It only gets rougher from here. I hope you guys like this. I'm hoping that the results are good. This chapter was hard for me to get out for some reason. I'm not sure if it was me just trying to set up the stage for the next few chapters or what, but this is a big moment in all of their lives. Sasha and Payson fluffiness will be up next along with Alex's date...excuse me...lunch with Katrina. So please read and review and let me know what you think. Any idea are welcome. PM me or review if you have ideas. Enjoy and read and review. **


	9. Love and Like

My eyes open as I hear the faucet running in the bathroom. I turn over and notice Payson's side of the bed empty. I place my hand on the sheets and grimace when the sheets are ice cold. Cold sheets means she's been up for awhile. I look at the clock on the bedside table and groan when it reads three-thirty. I hear the faucet turn off and then for a few minutes it's silent. I sigh in relief thinking Payson may come back to bed and get some rest. My body goes tense as I hear retching from the bathroom. I toss the blankets off my body and make my way into the bathroom. At seeing Payson kneeling in front of the toilet I automatically go over to her. I gather her soft blonde hair in one hand and rub her back with the other. After a few minutes she leans back against my chest. I brush the stray hair from her eyes and kiss her forehead. When I notice her overheated skin I get up and run cool water on a washcloth. I press the washcloth to her forehead and take her back in my arms. The silence over takes us for a few minutes and it's calm until she lurches towards the toilet bowl again. She leans back and her voice is hoarse from her retching.

"You don't have to be here you know. You don't have to watch me puke my guts up, it's normal." She lunges back to the toilet bowl for the third time.

I resume my role as comforter as she continues to get sick. I sigh as I think of how often she'll be going through this; every morning for the next few months if it's anything like the last four pregnancies. I'm pulled out of my thoughts as Payson tries to stand. I stand up quickly and place my hands on her waist to gently lift her off the floor. She goes over to the sink and begins to brush her teeth. I stand behind her and glance in the mirror. Her hair is in disarray from my hands and she's pale and fatigued. She raises her eyebrows at me when she notices my staring.

"Why are you looking at me like that for? I just puked my guts up and I look like roadkill." Payson glares at me through the mirror.

"I'm just...uh...you just look..." I trail off, not wanting to say the wrong thing and offend her.

She glares at me through the mirror. "I look what? Fat? Pregnant? Sick? Take your pick Sasha because I'm all three." I wince when her voice turns a little bit high close to a shriek.

I step forward and quickly try to comfort and reassure her. "No love. First off your not fat, your pregnant...big difference. Besides you aren't even showing yet. You just look tired. You should go back to bed, it's only three-thirty. It's my fault your tired, I kept you up last night." I see her smile at my reflection affectionately.

"Trust me, if I didn't want you to do anything I would have stopped you. Besides it's been awhile since we've...had time alone." She goes back to brushing her teeth while I smirk.

"We should have time alone more often then. Last night was..." I trailed off when I noticed her smirking at me.

"Fabulous? Amazing? Explosive?" Payson supplies all of the adjectives that could define last night with a seductive grin on her face.

I smirk and place my hands on the counter top on both sides of her waist caging her in between my arms. "How bout all the above?" I lean forward to graze my lips on her neck. I smirk in satisfaction as I hear her soft moan.

"Sasha, please...I'm tired." I look in the mirror and see the dark circles under her eyes indicating that she's been up for quite awhile.

"Yea you should really go back to bed Pay. I'll keep my hands to myself." I smirk when I see her roll her eyes. "Well mostly."

After she's finished brushing her teeth she comes back to bed. As soon as she slips in between the sheets I pull her closer. My hand automatically goes to rest on her tummy. I smile into her shoulder as she places her hand on top of mine.

Her voice is like a whisper in the huge room. "I love you Sasha."

"I love you to Payson." After a few minutes her breathing evens out and her face is set in a peaceful smile. I snuggle in closer and soon follow her into a restful sleep.

My eyes open at the sound of the alarm clock. I groan and pull the pillow over my head in a feeble attempt to block out the loud shrill noise filling my room. I blindly reach over to my bedside table to try and find the alarm clock, but stop halfway to think better of it. Mom and dad already said if I broke another one, I'd be in major trouble...as if I'm not grounded already. I sigh, but sit up when I remember Katrina and what we hastily planned last night after practice. At the thought of seeing Katrina I throw the covers off my body and practically run out of my room. In my fast pace I barely beat Annabelle to the bathroom door. I plaster myself in front of the door to ensure I get in first. I smirk at her and shrug casually.

Her voice is barely controlled and I feel at the point of sounding conceded and twisted...smug at hearing her struggle. "Not fair Alex. You know I get the bathroom first. Every morning it's been like that for years..._every...morning. _So why today of all days you have to be first? I'm going to a new place today and I want to look nice. You're not going anywhere, but the gym. A place where you work out and get sweaty."

I raise my eyebrows at her and lower my eyes. I reluctantly give in and tell her about Katrina knowing she may be more pleasant and not screech and throw a tantrum if I tell her. "Look, last night after practice Katrina and I made...plans... for lunch today. Since you know, I'm grounded and all."

She scrunches up her eyebrows before smiling slily at me. "Are you...going on a date? With Katrina?"

I glare at her when she starts laughing. "No I'm not. You know I don't have time for dates or...girls. I'm a gymnast first. I'm just...uh...welcoming her to The Rock family"

She tries to give a straight face, but fails miserably. "You mean you're just going to go and be nice and welcome her into The Rock family...rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt."

"At least I can make real friends instead of hanging out with gossiping barbie wannabe's, unlike some people I know." I smirk at seeing her scoff. I turn around and come face to face with dad.

I plaster an innocent smile on my face and hope he didn't hear our conversation, but from the looks of his face he did. "Morning dad. How are things?"

Dad raises his eyebrows, but answers anyway. "Fine. Would be better if you and Annabelle would stop fighting for five seconds."

I look at the ground and then back up into his light eyes. "Sorry. It's just.."

"Habit? Yea I know. Your mother and I have noticed you like to bicker. Tell me son...do you remember anything from last night's conversation?"

"What part? The part where you and mom blast us with news of mom having twins or the whole attitude part?" _Smooth move dumbass, you've pissed him off, even more. _

He gives me a sharp glare before answering. "The part where we tell you that things need to change in the attitude department is what I'm referring to."

Like an idiot I give him a blank stare. "Oh. That...yea...I remember."

"Okay. Then at least have the respect and decency to at least act like you care when your mother and I are around." Dad's voice is short and to the point. In my book I'd rather have him be yelling than talking softly in these circumstances.

I sigh and nod quickly before stepping around dad and into the bathroom. I close the door softly before jumping in the shower. After my quick shower I run past Annabelle and into my room to grab my gym bag. By the time I have my gym bag packed with what I'll need from the gym and make my way down the stairs into the kitchen where everyone else Annabelle is out of the shower and looking...nice. To appease a ticked off father and a tired mother I decide to be nice in front of them.

"You look good sis. I'm sure you'll make a good impression to all the teachers at your new school." I smile in what I hope is a friendly manner.

She looks at me nervously and smiles softly before turning to glance at dad swiftly, before meeting my eyes again. "Thanks Alex."

"No problem." I take the empty seat next to mom and smile at her. I notice she looks a little better than what she did yesterday.

My thoughts are broken by dad's voice. "See, that wasn't so bad. You two can be nice to each other and not rip each others head's off, I guess miracles do happen."

I smirk before going back to my food. If I can get to the gym quicker I can get to my...outing with Katrina quicker.

It turns out that the second I stepped into the gym, time was for once, was on my side. I found myself on the passengers side of Katrina's silver Porsche at exactly twelve-thirty. I look over at her with raised eyebrows. When she speaks her voice is the only thing that registers in my mind.

"You do know your supposed to get in right?" I glance at her and realize she's already in the car and speaking through the open window. _Wonderful job Belov, what a way to make a first impression. _

"Yea I was just admiring the view." _Good save Belov. _

She laughs as I climb in the passengers seat. "Right like The Rock is a 'wonderful view'."

I turn to her and smile. "No I was just looking beyond The Rock. If you really look it's got this beautiful lake with a few trees."

"Speedy and poetic?" Her eyes flicker to me before she pulls out of the parking lot.

"No not really. Although I do love poetry. My parents took all of us kids to the lake when we were younger. It was sort of a family routine we did on Sundays." I sigh and allowed myself a few seconds of reminiscence before pulling myself back into the present.

"So what are some good places to eat around here?" Katrina is slowing driving down the main streets of Boulder looking for a good place to eat.

I think swiftly and throw out the first name that comes to mind. "The Pizza Shack is close by." At seeing her grimace I rush on and try to convince her to stop. "Don't worry it's safe I promise, they have salad. That's what I always get because it's the healthiest thing they serve."

She sighs softly and pulls into the parking lot with ease. Once we're inside and seated we place our salad orders. Once the waitress is gone Katrina leans forward and looks at me with questioning gray eyes. I raise my eyebrows at her and smile.

"So Katrina, what makes you tick?" I decide to make this conversation about her to make her more comfortable.

She smiles and leans back into the padded seat. "Family, friends, gymnastics."

I smile at her before leaning forward to see her better...okay it was an excuse to see her beautiful eyes. "Family, friends, and gymnastics is something every single person in the gym has. You seem to know everything of my family and I know nothing of yours. Doesn't seem too fair does it?" I smirk as I see her roll her eyes.

"Okay Gonzales how about this...you tell me something of your family and I do the same. Deal?" I glance down at her extended hand and raise mine to meet hers into a gentle handshake.

"Deal. Okay, I'll go first. My parents are considered 'gymnastics royalty'. Sasha Belov: the only one to every beat Marty Walsh and win four Olympic gold medals in the 2000 Olympics. Payson Keeler: the one who astounded everyone when she came back to the sport from a dream stopping back injury." I grimace slightly as I remember the article that Annabelle and I found about our parents, but look up and continue. "When she won her gold medal in 2012 on the apparatus that injured her, the gymnastics world went crazy. When she won her silver medal on her floor routine 'the most beautiful floor piece in gymnastics history', everyone was shocked. Besides the fact that my parents are gymnastics legends, their just mom and dad to me. My dad is annoying and overbearing and my mom is protective and nagging, but, their still mom and dad."

She looked at me with a small smile and raised eyebrows. "Wow sounds like a fairy tale compared to my dear parents. At least your mom and dad didn't have any scandalous, earth shocking affair to hide."

I smirk and look at her briefly before backing up so the approaching waitress can give us our food. Once our food is on the table and the waitress is gone I continue as I pick up my fork. "Uh actually, my parents kind of were together way before they should have been. He came to coach four elite gymnasts in 2010 at The Rock. There was Emily Kmetko, Lauren Tanner, Kaylie Cruz, and...Payson Keeler." I notice her somewhat shocked expression and smirked. "Yea shocked the hell out of me. All of it way before my time...obviously, but the fact is she was dad's gymnast. They ended up falling in love, through him helping her become.."

"Until she become the artistic gymnast. Yea I live in the gymnastics world to. Yea well your parents love each other and will never leave each other or you. My dad, ironically Marty Walsh, met MJ Martin during the Olympic games, supposedly fell in love, married and had me. It only lasted three years. Thank God. Dad moved me to NYC and stayed there for awhile. He ran into an old flame, Ronnie Cruz, and they dated for awhile. I met her family and her children. They treated me like their own sibling. It was a good thing to because after Marty and Ronnie reconnected a year later they married. Then we all decided to head 'home' to Colorado when I was fourteen. Best thing we all could have every done."

I look at her and notice she smiled a lot when her extended family was mentioned she looked truly happy. Her gray eyes were clear and bright and the smile never left her face. "Well you sound like you love your extended family." I glance at the clock and notice it's one o'clock. _Damn only fifteen minutes. Better make the best of it. _"Okay next thing with the family. The dreaded siblings." I laugh softly and glance into her eyes. "Just kidding I love all my siblings when they aren't getting on my nerves. Obviously you know me. Annabelle is fourteen and tends to be girly and princess-ish, but she's got a big heart. She would help anyone if she could. My little brother Nicholas, American version of the Romanian form if that makes since," I pause to see her nod. "he isn't into gymnastics. He's more of the video games, soccer, and literature. Dad's proud of him because he's not falling into the gymnastics legacy of the family. Then there is my littlest sister Catalina. She's four and she's daddy's girl hands down. She can just dance into a room and light up everyone's day. She says she wants to be just like dad, but we'll see. As dad says, 'she's still really young'." I pause to see Katrina looking intently at me with her gray eyes.

"What?" I try to sound casual, but I'm freaking out.

She smiles and looks down at her empty bowl and back up at me. "Nothing. Just hearing you talk about your family is empowering Alex. You love your brother and sisters, I can tell."

I smile and nod. "Yea well it comes with the territory I guess. If mom and dad have their way about it, we'll have two more babies to deal with at the end of the year. I'm happy and all, but I don't do crying babies well."

"You'll be fine. I can say that I don't have any biological siblings, but I do have step siblings," She smirks and leans forward "not the evil kind though. Leo is way old, but way cool. Even though he's like in his late thirties he still rocks. I love to go four wheel driving and hunting with him to get in touch with the world I guess. To remind myself that there is things outside the gymnastics world. Kaylie on the other hand brings out the girl in me. Shopping and spa days are the best with her. She knows all the ends and outs of fashion and the latest gossip. My stepmother is like my real mother. She is my mother in my eyes. My own mother is dead to me. She ran away and didn't think twice about it. It's okay though, because I have the best family ever."

I smile at her and slowly run my fingers across the top of her hand. "I've only known you for a total of forty-eight hours and I already like you. I don't see how anyone could walk out on someone as nice and energetic as you. I see you in the gym you know. When you're doing your routines you do it well and flawlessly. I didn't want this to turn into a gymnastics talk, but I can't help, but notice that you don't step outside the box. When you do things proper you move on and do the next thing. If you tackle gymnastics with the energetic enthusiasm you're showing me now, you'll rock the world."

I notice her doubtful expression and rush to soothe her. "I'm Sasha and Payson Belov's oldest son. I'm not bragging, I'm just letting you know that I do know a thing or two about gymnastics. If you need help, you can come to me. Of course you have my dad and mom as your coaches, but if you want extra help from a fellow gymnast, you've got me."

It's silent for a few seconds and I'm hoping and praying I haven't overstepped my boundaries. The seconds tick by slowly until she finally looks up at me with a bright smile. "Thank you Alex. I really appreciate the support. I'll try to take your advice and if I need help you'll be one of the first people I come to. Mentioning of gymnastics we should be heading back so your dad doesn't kill us. It's a quarter after one so we should go."

I smile and nod as I pay for the lunch. She glares at my hand holding the money, but I just lay the money down and steer her towards the door. "Your right Trina we should go back now before he kills us all with conditioning drills. Just because his lovely wife is their does not mean he's going easy one us."

At that remark we both climb in her car and head back to The Rock for the rest of practice.

**AN: First the credit for Katrina's backstory, goes to CSINYPacker because with the profile they made I wouldn't have gotten this far with her so THANK YOU! Okay this is the chapter that is the beginning of something for Katrina and Alex. The date has come and gone, even though they both don't say it out loud it was meant to be a loophole around Alex's circumstance. So it was a date. Let me know how I did on it. I was trying to get them to learn the in depth emotions and the core of who they are. There will be more to come concerning Trina and Alex. For those of you who have missed some Payson and Sasha time I hope I delivered well. There is no good way to portray some one puking their guts up, but I tried to do it as...classy as possible. It was a way to show the vulnerable side of Payson and the husband-ly side of Sasha. Please let me know what you guys think. **


	10. A New Normal

I toss and turn in my bed trying to get comfortable. I glance at the clock and sigh when the big neon numbers flash four-thirty. I close my eyes again and try to get some form of sleep. The silence is comforting, at least until I hear a door slam. Thinking it's Alex I throw the blankets of my body and make my way across the hall to his room. I open his door and I'm surprised to see him buried under his covers and the pillow over his blonde head. I glance between the bathroom and Alex's door before walking back to my room. On the way there I glance behind me as the bathroom door slowly opens. I frown slightly as mom steps out.

"You okay mom?" We meet in the middle of the hallway.

"Yea it's just the morning sickness thing. I didn't want to wake up your dad." Mom's voice is like a whisper.

I cringe before nodding. "I just thought I heard Alex, guess not." Mom looks at me and steps forward placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Honey, you're going to be fine. I know it's your first day at a new place, but look at it like a gymnastics meet. Go in the arena with your head held high. Be the confident person I know you are and you'll be fine. Show everyone the Annabelle that I know you are and just be yourself." I look up and stare at her, wondering how she knew of my fears, even though I didn't utter a single word relevant to school. Although with a mother like mine I shouldn't have been surprised.

"It's just, what if I don't get along with anyone? What if they don't like me?" I try not to sound dramatic or childish because I don't do that kind of thing, but I can't help, but express my fears in front of my mom.

She smiles softly before walking to my room. I soon follow her and get into bed. She pulls the blanket over me and strokes my hair, while I try not to roll my eyes; she is trying to help, after all. "Bells, if you show everyone the person I know, the person your friends at The Rock know, then everyone will love you. There's no need to be scared. What I did when I had to go to high school for a time was join clubs. Find something that interests you and jump in that. Don't be scared to try new things."

I sigh before nodding. "And if I don't like it can I come back to gymnastics?"

Mom smiles. "Remember Bells, we made a deal. Your dad and I said if you joined school and quit gymnastics then you had to finish out the school year no matter what. If you absolutely don't like it then I'm sure there's a spot open at The Rock for you. Give it time honey, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks mom." I sigh and roll over to my side as mom strokes my hair before standing up and walking to the door. As the door closes I try to relax and get another hour of sleep.

As soon as my eyes close it feels like they are opening the next second. I cringe when my alarm shatters the comfortable silence. I sigh and turn it off with a flick of my wrist. I swing my legs over the bed and walk to my closet. I browse past all of my leos and matching warmups with an affectionate smile. I shove past them and search for an explosive outfit for my first day of school. After a few changes and switches of tops I finally have the perfect outfit. I walk down the hallway and towards the bathroom. For once Alex isn't there trying to get past me. I take my time in the shower trying to pull myself together. I'm happy and excited to be going to a new place with new people; a place where my last name doesn't matter to anyone and a place I can be me. I sigh as I step out of the shower and place a fluffy towel around me. I run my hands through my wet hair and grab the hair dryer to blast away the silence. After a few moments of constant noise my hair is finally dry. I wear my hair down in loose curls with some of my hair brushed across my right eye. I yank on my light blue skinny jeans, light pink tennis shoes, and my striped dark gray and white sweater. I glance at myself in the mirror and am happy with the look I present. The only thing left is my makeup. I'm touching up my light gray eye shadow when someone bangs on the door. The noise causes me to jump slightly and loose my concentration. Assuming it's Alex I take minute or two longer than necessary to fix my screw up. Once done I shove all my make up in its bag and place it under the sink. I glance at myself in the mirror one last time before swinging open the door. On the other side I stare at Alex while his mouth is hanging open. He glances at me briefly before smiling at me.

"You look good sis. I'm sure everyone will love you. Now can you please move? I gotta get ready to go to the gym." I nod and brush past him as he steps around me. I go back to my room to grab my bag and then I head downstairs to the living room. Once I drop my bag on the couch I head into the kitchen where mom is making breakfast. She turns towards the entryway and as soon as she sees me, she tears up.

"Sweetie, you look beautiful. You're going to be just fine. Here, take a seat. Breakfast is almost ready. I think your dad is on his way down." I let her hug me, knowing she's going to enjoy this as much as she can. It's her chance to have a 'normal child'. I inwardly smirk at the thought of me being normal. No matter how much I'm out of the arena or gymnasium, I'm still a Belov. I move to sit at the table as everyone else comes in the kitchen. I see dad look at me before moving towards mom. As mom and dad say a 'proper good morning' to each other Alex zeros in on me.

"How you holding up sis?" Alex slings his arm on the back of my chair. I turn ready to glare, but don't at the last second. The look on his face and the emotions in his eyes is concern and encouragement.

Since he's trying to be the big brother, I figure I'd be somewhat honest. "Good. Nervous, but good."

He smirks before leaning forward. "You'll be just fine sis. Just think of it as a gymnastics meet. If you tackle school like you do gymnastics, you'll be just fine. Everyone will love you. Just like mom and dad and Nicky and Lina do...just like I do. I know I don't say it enough sis, but I'm proud of you. You're doing your own thing and that's all that matters."

I look at him, I can tell he's being serious. He's usually a pain in my ass, but he's still my big brother. I lean forward a give him a hug; the first real hug we've shared, in a really long time. As my head is resting against his cheek I whisper in his ear. "Thank you Alex. It means so much, hearing you say that."

As I pull back he shrugs and nods. We both look towards the counter where mom and dad are silently watching us with smiles on their faces. Dad is the first one to break the silence. "Can I take this as a sign that you two are going to try to be nice to each other now?"

Alex and I both look towards each other briefly before looking at dad and nodding. "Good. Now Alex you'll be going to the gym like usual. Lina and Nicky you two will be going to grandma and grandpa's today because your mom is going to try and go to the gym today and help coach. Even though I think-"

"Even though you think I should rest. Yes Sasha I know. I'm pregnant, not dying. I haven't been to the gym much in about a week. It's about time I show up. Lord knows the gymnasts who do ballet along with their other training is suffering if they have you teaching them. Lord knows you can't preform ballet if your life depended on it."

Dad rolled his eyes and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for his poor ballet skills. "Well, love, if I remember right you didn't do it right for awhile."

Mom smiled and sat next to dad and smirked. "At least I never looked like I was holding a hippo."

Dad refused to comment and changed the subject entirely. "Bells, you excited for your first day of school?"

I smile weakly before nodding. Dad was able to see through my facade because of what he said next. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine. Just go in there and run at it full force."

I sigh and look into dad's eyes. My ice blue eyes meet his in a silent plea. I'm silently begging him to be the honest one out of everyone. All my life, he has told me the truth when I've asked; never tried to make things easier. He get's up from his chair and jerks his head to the living room silently telling me to follow him. When we're in the living room, he turns towards me with his arms across his chest. I stare at him, letting him see my vulnerability, letting him see my fear.

His voice is soft and comforting. "Now, how are you really feeling? You look like a lamb being led to the slaughter."

I shift from one foot to the other trying to stall. I glance up, taking a deep breath. "Scared. I've never been in school. Let alone a freaking high school."

He cuts in my small tirade, "You've been home schooled Bells so you know the material."

I huff and walk to the couch with dad close behind me. "Okay fine. I'm just nervous I guess because it's a new place and stuff."

"It's normal to be nervous when you're trying something new. No matter what happens Bells, your mom and I are going to be here for you every step of the way." His voice is comforting and soft.

"Yea well I just hope I'm doing the right thing. If I want to come back to gymnastics I can, right?" I look in his eyes and see a small light of hope ignited in his eyes. He may be letting me do this for me, but my father would always want his kids to be a part of gymnastics; it's in our blood.

He sighs and when he speaks it's almost like the words slipping out of his mouth is painful. "Annabelle, you know what your mom and I said. No matter what happens between now and June, you have to finish this school year out. If you absolutely don't like it and want to came back to gymnastics then we'll talk when the time comes. For now, just enjoy being a normal teenager. I'm not saying it's going to be easy because it's not. When you stumble your mom and I will be here to help. You need to figure out who you are without gymnastics. Sometimes life may just surprise you." Dad pauses and smiles affectionately as if he's remembering a time when he was younger; a time before his family; a time when he met mom. "I know it sure surprised me."

I look at him quizzically. "What do you mean by 'it sure surprised me' ?"

He smiles and pats my shoulder. "Another story for another day Bells. Look just go and enjoy this. There's no need to be scared. Have a good day, alright?" I nod as he brings me into a hug. We go back into the kitchen where everyone is eating breakfast. The rest of breakfast passes by in a blur.

Before I know it I'm standing in front of a big sign that reads 'Boulder High School' in gold and purple lettering. I take a deep breath before pushing through the double doors. I navigate my way through the halls observing my new peers. I see guys in different forms of sports jerseys along with girls in t-shirts that have 'BHS Cheerleader' across the front. At the end of the hall I ram into something hard and solid. I look up and I'm met with dark green eyes. The second thing I notice is his smile. When he speaks his voice is low, but soft.

"Sorry I probably shouldn't be standing in the middle of the hall way. Are you alright?"

I flash a smile and nod. "Yea I'm fine. I'm just looking for the main office."

He smiles and nods. "I'll show you where the office is. Although you may as well stay clear of the place. They give you a schedule of your classes. A place you wanna stay away from if you ask me."

"Right. I'm Annabelle by the way." I extend my hand to him which he takes a shakes gently.

"Annabelle huh, that's a neat name. I'm Kyle. I assumed you're new because I've never seen you here before." He walks fast down the hall way as he talks.

"Yea I'm new. I'm up for trying something new." I look at his confused face and smirk before following him into a room marked 'Main Office'.

"Well, you sound interesting because of what you just said, but this is the dreaded office. I'll catch you later if you're lucky." With that Kyle left with a wink and a wave. As he left I walked up to the secretary to get my schedule and attendance forms. With a promise of me returning at the end of the day to give her my signed papers from the teachers I navigated my way to my English class.

When I entered the class I spotted Kyle in the back row. He waved and shoved his bag of the chair in front of him. I smiled and made my way towards him. Once I was in my seat I felt his breath on the back of my neck.

"I guess you were lucky after all." I jumped slightly and looked at him over my shoulder. His green eyes sparkled as he smirked at me.

"A little conceited much?" I notice his small eye roll, before he shrugs his shoulders.

"No. Just humorous. You ever heard of the term?...Princess." He drawled out the last word to finish of his cocky remark. I rolled my eyes and smirked at him.

"Of course I have. So how is this class?" I turn to see him smiling at me. He shrugs casually before answering.

"It's not too bad. The teacher, Mr. Conway, is pretty cool. He likes to go over Shakespeare and the legends of King Arthur. Hell he even drudges up the works of The Bronte Sisters. As you can probably tell he loves to teach his classes around the classics. Which is alright I guess if you like that kind of thing. See me, I'm here because I have to be, but...that's just me." A few seconds of silence overtakes us as we stare at each other. The silence is broken by a door banging on the wall. A tall man with silver hair enters the classroom. As he walks up to the board and starts writing, I prepare myself for my first class of the day.

AN: Okay this is a long time coming so I hope you guys enjoy this. Points to the people who can guess what reference I used from a past episode. This is Annabelle's first day so I hope you guys are ready for a thrill ride. I hope you guys read and review!


	11. A New Challenge

As I walk through the double doors I drop my bag as my eyes scope out the gym for a new, but familiar person. As I spot her long shiny black hair from across the room, I make my way over to where she's standing. I sneak up behind her with slow balance steps so I won't alert her of my arrival. I take a deep breath and place my hands on her shoulders. As soon as my hands make contact with her shoulders, her fist connects with my nose. I fall gracelessly to the floor holding my nose as blood oozes through my fingers. After a few seconds on the ground Katrina is hovering over me.

"Alex! God, I'm so sorry. It was just an immediate reaction. I thought you were Josh." My eyes narrow as she mentions Josh, but I brush that aside for later as the pain in my nose takes over my attention.

"Guess again Trina, I'm obviously not Josh." My words come out sharp, but I can see she doesn't take offense. Probably because she feels bad for hitting me. "Nice punch though. You take a defense class to?"

She laughs before answering. "If you consider being roughed up by big brother Leo then yes. When I was younger we would always be wrestling around the house, so I've learned some tricks over the years."

I manage a small smile before slowly getting to my feet. We both turn towards the door as my parents walk in and up towards the office. Dad is carrying a heavy looking box while mom is trailing behind him looking slightly put out. As dad reaches the small deck leading into the office, he stops and looks out across the gym. His eyes narrow, but before he can say anything mom says something to him that makes him smile slightly before turning and walking into the office. I turn toward Katrina who is looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

She shrugs her shoulders before smirking. "Your dad looked like he was wanting to bark out orders already, but your mom said something to him. I just find it interesting that your mom can...tame him I guess."

At hearing the word tame directed towards my dad I can't help, but laugh a little. "If you lived in my house you wouldn't find it surprising. Mom is the only one to keep my dad from yelling and barking out orders. That's why, when I found out she was coming in today I was relieved, cuz when mommy is here, daddy doesn't yell as much."

As the words slip through my mouth I realize how childish they sound. I try to salvage some of my dignity and pride, but Katrina's laugh makes my idiocy worthwhile. As I stand by the chalk bowl thinking of ways to make her laugh more I'm pulled from my thoughts as I hear someone approach. I spin around and come face to face with mom. I can tell by the focused look she has, she's wanting us to train instead of goofing off. She calls it goofing of, but I call it interacting and encouraging my fellow gymnast and team member.

"Are you two going to stand there and continue talking or get serious? Alex I want to see your floor routine. Katrina, Sasha wants you warming up for the vault." Funny, she kind of words things the way dad does...they've been around each other, way too long.

When we walked to the center of the gym I winked at Katrina as she moved towards the vault. When she was busy stretching, I began some stretching of my own. I looked up from my position on the floor to see mom standing at the edge of the mat. I smirked slightly at her posture. When it comes to gymnastics she could be the female version of my dad. Not only do they think alike, but their actions and gestures in the gym coincide with each other as well. I admit mom is more soft spoken then dad, but she still expects our best twenty-four-seven. As I step in the center of the floor, I raise my hands in salute to the imaginary judges; well to my mother at least. As the music starts, I begin to move with the music. I envision my routine and the moves I'm making a split second before I make them. Half way through my routine, the music suddenly stops. Out of habit I stop once the room is silenced. I look over to see my dad by the CD player with a scowl on his face. I cringe when I realize what he's doing.

He holds the CD up and flips it over to where the tittle is facing me. "The Matrix Instrumental, really Alexander? I wouldn't even look at this genre when picking a piece for a floor routine." I scowl as he places the CD down next to the CD Player. Over my dad's shoulder I see Katrina giving me a small grin. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders at her. I look towards dad and narrow my eyes.

"Well dad, I'm not you." As soon as the words slip past my mouth I have no choice, but to except the repercussions of my words. I watch as dad's jaw tightens and eyes narrow. Even though dad and I are almost the same height, I feel about two inches tall when he stalks across the floor until he's only a couple of feet from me.

"I'm not asking you or telling you to do anything as your father Alexander. I'm advising you as your coach."

I cringe, but stand my ground as I lock eyes with my dad. "So you're doing the whole coach-father card dad? You switch roles to whatever is convenient for you. You make it seem so simple and easy to do something, but have you ever done this...no."

I watch as dads' face goes from anger and irritation to frustration in the span of only a few seconds. "Watch what you say son. It might be hard to believe, but yes, I've been through this. I've went through countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears to get to the Olympics. It wasn't a cake walk to get there and you're treating it like one. You need to be serious about this." We were now standing nose to nose. I narrowed my eyes as he spoke. Both of us too stubborn to give in.

I shrug my shoulders and try to walk past him, but he stops me with a hand on my arm. "I want you to go into the gym and run. No questions asked."

I roll my eyes and stand at his side. "Is this your brilliant plan to get me to bow down to you dad? Or should I call you coach?"

I regret the words as soon as they pass my lips. Dads' shoulders tense and he breathes in deeply as if he's trying to hold in his temper. After a few seconds he stalks across the floor, up the stairs, and up into the office. I see mom look up at his entrance and sigh as mom's eyes flash with anger for a swift second. I shake my head and walk past Katrina and into the gym.

Once I have a good pace on the treadmill I hear someone enter the gym. I sigh in relief when I see it's just Katrina. I see her white teeth gleaming in the light as she steps up onto the treadmill next to mine.

"Your dad is super pissed at you."

I sigh and look at her for a split second. "Yea I figured as much. Forget my dad. I can handle that whenever he decides to bitch and complain about my seriousness. He'll probably do that at home where he doesn't feel bad for yelling or whatever it is he's gonna do."

I notice her smile at me before looking ahead into the glass window overlooking the gym with all of the apparatuses. "So how's Annabelle doing in school?"

I smile as I think of Annabelle and her first two weeks of school. "She's actually really enjoying it. She's decided to get involved in this music thing I guess. Mom's happy about it and dad's supportive of her, but I can tell he was hoping she would cave and come back to train at The Rock. It would make him happier because he wishes I was more like Annabelle. She had all the big bad D's down pat. She had the dedication and determination that I 'supposedly' don't have, according to dad. " I pause in my strides to glance at Katrina. She's stopped her workout and is now looking at me with sad eyes.

"Alex, I'm sure your dad knows how you feel about gymnastics. I'm sure he wants you to be you, not your sister."

I sigh and smile at her encouraging words. "I don't know Trina. My dad...he's..I don't know. I know my dad loves me and stuff, but I just don't know how to talk to him anymore. If it's not one thing, it's another. Since Bells went to school and quit gymnastics my dads' been hard to please in the gymnastics world. I've caught myself wondering what he would do if _I _decided to quite and _I_ wanted to do something for me. Then I sit back and realize that, this is who I am. I'm a gymnast who wants to be a champion and a gold medalist. Not because my parents are Sasha Belov and Payson Keeler either. I want to win gold because it's my dream and my goal. I can't seem to get my dad to see that. I don't know Trina...when it comes to my dad, I'm confused I guess."

She smiles at me and stops her treadmill. "Maybe you just need to talk to your dad about how you're feeling. Never bottle up your feelings because it only gets worse over time. Eventually all hell will break loose if you don't talk to your dad. You have to remember though that there's been a lot of changes in the past couple of months. Your sister up and quits gymnastics suddenly and you guys find out your mom is pregnant with twins. If you ask me that's a lot to take in."

I shrug and try to play it off as no big deal, but Katrina being Katrina sees right through me. "I guess. Back to the actual question Trina. Bells is...changing. Mom and dad aren't exactly noticing it." I pause and gauge her reaction. She nods her head as if to tell me continue. "She's dressing differently and she stays in her room way more than what she use to. It's small things that's happening that's adding up to be a big thing. I just hope she's not getting into anything stupid. The life she's always known is home and here at the gym. It's not because mom and dad tried to keep it that way, it's because it's what we wanted; all of us involved in gymnastics. I just don't want her getting into any trouble. My sister tries so hard to fit in and make friends. I'm just scared she's gonna go too far and get hurt."

I feel Katrina place her hand on my shoulder and squeeze gently. "I'm sure she'll be fine. What is it you're always saying?" She pauses and then tries to imitate me. "She is a Belov after all. Belov's always meets a challenge, or something like that. The point is your parents raised your sister to know the difference between right and wrong and good and bad. If she's the person I know, I'm sure she'll be fine and be careful."

We both stare at each other for a moment. I lock eyes with her and decide to go for it. As I lean down to kiss her I notice her small smirk before meeting me half way. A split second after our lips meet the door bangs open. We both sigh and reluctantly turn towards the door.

"Oh sorry. Was I interrupting?" I narrow my eyes as I look at our intruder. I scowl when I see Josh standing in the doorway looking anything, but sorry.

I shrug and play it off as nothing. "No man. We were just getting our usual work out in. Dad sent us in here to run on the treadmill some."

I notice that Josh's eyes narrow and flash with frustration. "Oh. Then...uh why isn't the treadmills running then?"

I smirk and shrug casually. "Well we were just taking a five minute break. You can come and join us if you want."

"Sure. I haven't got to see much of you lately man. Anything new?" I watch as Josh strategically gets the treadmill that Katrina was just on, separating us.

_Sure bro. You just totally ruin my moment with Katrina, my sister is changing and turning emo, and my mom's pregnant with twins. _"Nothing much is new other than the usual. You know my mom is pregnant and my sister quit gymnastics. So other than that, nothing new."

"Yea I heard about your sister quitting. I didn't believe it at first, but when she didn't show up at the gym I guess I couldn't do anything, but believe it. How's she doing at school anyway?" 

I try to keep my answer short and simple. "Good."

I see him smirk before meeting my gaze. "Cool. No offense bro, but I just hope she's better at doing her own thing than gymnastics."

At hearing my friend insult my sister I see nothing, but red. I stalk towards Josh and turn off his treadmill. I smirk at hearing his protests.

"First thing is first _bro, _don't insult my family. You may be my friend, but my family comes first." I stare at Josh's bewildered expression. "Yes, Josh even before you, my best friend. I can't believe you'd insult my little sister."

"Look Alex, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just joking. I just meant that your sister has always been so focused. She's like a little gymnastics robot. No offense."

"Yea well, watch it when you talk about my family." I pace around the work out area while I look at Katrina. At just seeing her eyes I calm down somewhat.

"How about we all just get back on our treadmills and finish our required workout. Then when we're done, we can all go back in the gym and finish working out the kinks in our routines." I stare at Josh and notice him staring at Katrina. I nod at Josh as Katrina and I get on either side of him and finish our work out.

As I head to the locker room after practice I can't help, but be confused at what I've lost and what I've gained. Are my feelings for Katrina and loyalty to my family worth the price of one of my oldest friends?

**AN: I am so sorry I haven't updated. I am working on this I really am, but I've been so busy with school and pledging I haven't had time to think of anything else. I know this is a little shorter than usual, but please tell me what you think. As you can tell some time has passed. Things are still tense between father and son and it will be like that for awhile. Trust me it will change, but not for awhile. Things between Katrina and Alex are picking up just as things between Alex and Josh are getting complicated. I will be getting into Annabelle's head next chapter. You will get a look at how much she has changed in the short amount of time. Please all reviews are welcomed so make me a happy writer and hit the review button. **


	12. Sibling Fun

**AN: First I want to apologize for not keeping up with this story. I had so much that I've been doing these past few months. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story in the past few months. I've just been so busy writing my other stories that this one kind of got lost in the dust. I'm going to try to update this one more often because I do have plans for these characters. Just read and review because I love getting them and they do help when I'm stuck with a chapter or scene. So read and take those few extra seconds to review the chapter. **

I sigh as I flip through my algebra book trying to figure out how to solve for x, y, and z. When I've gone through the problem for what felt like the millionth time I fling my book across the room. I feel only a little better when I see my math book laying face down on the ground in a deserted corner of my room. I flop on my green blanket and switch on the TV and smile when I see James Tebow's face flash across the screen. I tear my eyes from Jame's interview when my door is opened suddenly. I roll my eyes when Alex saunters in and flops down on my orange bean bag chair.

"Knock much."

Alex grins and shrugs before taking my brown teddy bear in his hands and tossing it up in the air and catches with one hand. "Yea actually. I just figured I could walk in and say hi seeing as how I don't see my lil sis much anymore. With you in school all the time and me in the gym almost all the time we don't talk much and that ain't acceptable in my book."

I roll my eyes and lay back on my bed. "Did mom and dad tell you to come in and check on me or something because I'm fine. School just sucks with all the homework I have. I tried talking to the guidance councilor about me not taking a foreign language credit, but she says I have to because everyone else has to. That blows I mean I already know Romanian; I don't need Spanish, French, or German."

Alex sighs before looking at me with a smirk. "Welcome to high school sis. You can't just not do something because you already have the skill mastered or required credit or whatever. Besides if you need help with something I can try to help you."

I look up at Alex and sigh in relief. "You like math don't you?"

Alex grins before nodding. "Math is just a problem waiting to be solved unlike guessing and standing around fighting like science. So yea I love math."

I hopped of the bed and snatched up my book from the corner and held it up. "Help?"

Alex grinned and jumped on my bed causing me to come off the bed a couple of inches. I shoved the hideous book towards him hoping he could help. I watched as Alex flipped through the chapter I was assigned and grabs a piece of paper and turned towards me. I sigh when I realize he's only going to show me how to do my work. I grab the paper and pen and listen as Alex tries to talk me through the problems.

After an hour of working through math I toss it aside and rub my eyes. "Okay I'm so done with this crap. I only had to do ten problems and I've done more than that." I glance at Alex and smile when he's stretched out on my bed with a pink pillow. "So how's the gym?"

It was Alex's turn to grimace and groan as he tossed my pillow in the air. He tucks the pillow under his head before rolling on his side to face me. "Sucks. Dad is the coach from hell as usual, but I guess he has to be since this Ellen Beals lady is traipsing around the gym. From what I hear she's been out for dad's blood for years."

I roll my eyes and shove him aside before climbing towards my computer. "Well we can just look her up."

Alex rolls off my bed and pulls up my bean bag chair with a feeling of Dea-ja-vue. "This feels familiar huh sis?"

I shrug and shake my head as I pull up Google while trying not to think of the night when me and Alex found out about our parents' past. "Yea. I'm just glad I have my stuff back. Those two weeks without my phone and laptop sucked."

Alex drums his fingers against my desk and sighs. "I know. I'm just glad to have my car back."

I smirk and turn towards him with a raised eyebrow. "So you can take Katrina out on dates?"

Alex rolls his eyes and rubs the back of his neck. "Heck yea. Any time we've wanted to do something this past month I've had to be picked up by her and that is so not how a date is supposed to go. I'm supposed to pick her up, not the other way around."

I laughed as my fingers flew over the keyboard. Alex pointed to the NGO's official website and I clicked on it hoping to find something of importance. I found Ellen Beal's name easy enough when I found the section with lists of past officials and coaches. I stopped and clicked on her name and read through her credentials quickly and raised my eyebrow. "She seems harmless dude. You're just flipping out because she's all up in your gym and you feel threatened."

Alex scoffed and waved his hands in the air. "No sis she is, because anyone that has a connection to Sasha and Payson Belov may as well clean out their lockers and kiss any chance of the Olympic Games goodbye. I'm their son so yea she's not only out for dad's blood, she's out for mine to."

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. "Dad won't let anything happen bro. You'll be okay."

"Mentioning of gymnastics sis. . .I have a meet next weekend in Denver and you're coming right?"

I smiled and shoved his shoulder. "Of course I'm coming you big goof. I still love gymnastics and stuff. Sides I wouldn't miss my big brother show off for anything in the world. And not to be mean, but it's not like I have a choice, mom and dad are going cuz they're the coaches. If they go I have to go."

"True. So you excited for summer break? That's coming up soon isn't it?"

I glance at the calender on my wall and grimace when I see the month of April standing out in big bold letters. "I have seven more weeks which sucks. I get out the first week of June."

Alex smirks before glancing around my room. His eyes narrow slightly when he sees pictures on my nightstand. He hops off the bed and snatches them up and flips through them with a grin. I grimace when he holds up a picture of me and Kyle at a fundraiser for the drama club from two weeks ago. "Is this your new boyfriend?"

I snatch the picture and look at it. I shove it in his face and grin. "No moron. If you look close enough there are other people with us. Kate is on the other side of Kyle, Abby is on the other side of me, and Drake is on the other side of Abby. So no it's my group of friends."

Alex rolled his eyes and smirked. "If you say so. I just can't wait for you to get a boyfriend because dad is so going to freak."

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Dad will be the reason I won't have any boyfriends because when I bring them home dad can just look at him and they'll run the other way."

Alex laughs before we hear footsteps come down the hall. A few seconds later a knock sounds at my door. The door creaks open and dad pears in and holds out the house phone.

"Some Kyle is wanting to speak with you Bells. Keep it short because dinner is going to be ready soon." I feel my face flush before I take the phone from dad's hand. As I turn around the door snaps shut and I'm left alone to have my conversation uninterrupted for once.

A half hour after I finish the last minute planning for the upcoming fundraiser for our drama club dad shouts that dinner is ready. I smile triumphantly as I beat Alex to the table. He saunters in with a smile on his face and his phone in his hand. I can only assume he's texting Katrina. As he sits down across from me he raises his eyebrows and makes kissing faces my way. I scowl and kick him under the table. I smile in satisfaction when he howls in pain and drops his phone on the table. We both glance up when mom and dad make their way to the table taking up their usual spots at both ends of the table. I glance around and notice Catalina and Nicky weren't with us like usual. I glance between mom and dad and notice thy re watching me and Alex with a critical eye. I roll my eyes before sighing.

"You guys do know that me and Alex are getting along so no need for intervention. So where is Nicky and Cat?"

Dad passes the bread to me and smiles. "They wanted to stay at your grandparents tonight. Your mother and I figured it wouldn't hurt since it's the weekend."

Alex and I glance at each other and we both smirk before turning to dad again. Alex rubs his hands together before moving in his seat. "So since Cat and Nick get to go to grandma and grandpa's can I go to this party tonight?".

Dad raises his eyebrow and stares at Alex. "Party? What party?"

Alex shrugs and fiddles with his napkin, a sign that he's nervous. "Uh yea. It's at Katrina's so you know her dad seeing as he's your best friend. And besides everyone I know is going to be there, it's Friday night so no training until Monday, and not only that, Austin Tucker is supposed to be there. I can take Annabelle so you guys can have the house to yourselves for a couple of hours. You know you guys can be alone. . .no kids to bother you."

I watch as dad and mom have a silent conversation with each other and I glance at Alex and cross my arms. He rolls his eyes and shrugs. "Not only that Annabelle can come to. It will be a good time for her to catch up with all her friends from The Rock."

Dad picks up his fork and sighs. "Alright fine, but you watch after your sister and be home no later than midnight."

Alex smirks before nodding. "Done and done. Sis won't leave my sight and we'll be home no later than midnight."

"Good."

As I pick up the dishes I glance at Alex wiping off the table and smirk. "So I know you didn't have to invite me to this party thing of yours, but thanks for letting me come with you."

I watch as Alex shrugs and tosses the dish rag in the sink before throwing and arm around my shoulders. "You're my little sister and I genuinely want to spend time with you. Besides mom and dad are going to be busy with each other tonight and I don't want you scared for life."

I laugh as I walk past Alex and up to my room to get ready. I hear Alex yell after me and I stop at the top of the stairs to listen. "Do you think you can be ready in an hour? I promised Trina I'd be there by eight-ish."

I roll my eyes and sigh. "Yea I can be ready by then I suppose."

"Awesome."

I roll my eyes again before I make my way into my room. I go towards my closet and scan my clothes for something suitable to wear. I settle on dark skinny jeans and a white camisole with a gray button up t-shirt. I race to the bathroom just as Alex exists his room. I sprint to the bathroom and block the entrance and smirk when he growls. He lunges towards me just as dad's walking towards the master bedroom. Alex jumps back hoping dad ignores our usual fight over the bathroom. Thankfully for our sakes he does.

Alex makes sure dad is out of hearing range before turning back to me with a raised eyebrow. "Can you not hog all the hot water? I want a shower to."

I smile and tap my chin. "I'll think about it."

"No you say 'sure Alex I'll be nice and save some hot water' or else I can tell mom and dad that people your age won't be there, I'll tell them that boys will be there. Dad won't let you near the front door then."

I growl and slam the door in his face. I smirk when I hear him huff on the other side of the door. "I take that as you saving me hot water."

"Sure Alex."

I glance at the clock on the wall and turn on the water. After I toss my clothes on the floor and test the water I climb in quickly. After standing under the hot spray and lathering up my coconut soap I wash quickly before hopping out and toweling off. I dress quickly before pulling out the hair dryer from under the sink. I quickly dry my hair before styling it into loose curls. I wipe the mirror and grin at my reflection. As I begin applying my foundation a loud knock breaks my concentration.

"Tick-tock sis. Hurry the bloody hell up. I still have to get ready. I'm sure whatever it is your doing can be done in your room."

I roll my eyes before grabbing my make up bag and flicking the door open. I scowl when Alex is leaning on the door jam. "Finally. I thought you were drowning or something."

I scoff before shoving past him and making my way into my room to finish getting ready. I scowl when Alex slams the door causing me to poke myself in the eye with my mascara wand. I flinch before slamming my fist against the wall knowing he'd be able to hear me. I try to fix my eye and finish my make up before Alex get's done with the shower. After debating between gray or black eyeshadow I finally apply the black shadow and pink lip gloss. I put on my sliver bracelet just as there's a knock on my door. I open the door and swing my door open wider to let my dad into my room. I watch as his eyes rake over my form, checking to make sure I'm dressed appropriately no doubt.

He glances around my room briefly before locking eyes with me. "Your mother and I are letting you and Alex go to this party thing because we're trusting you. And I've realized I've been a little hard on you both lately. So look at this as a little break for the weekend and a reward for helping out your mother and all."

I nod and glance behind me when I notice Alex in the doorway. He nods at dad before stepping through the threshold of my room. He shifts from foot to foot before glancing at his watch. "It's about time to go Bells."

Dad clears his throat before glancing between me and Alex. "Before you two take off to your little party we need to go over a couple rules first." We both nod and wait for dad to continue. "Be home no later than midnight, if you're going to be late you call no questions asked. Alex you look after your sister and no speeding."

We both nod before sighing. Alex grins and nods. "So be home at midnight, call if we have any trouble, keep an eye on Bells, and don't speed...gotcha."

Dad nods before walking towards the door. Me and Alex follow him downstairs. We don't miss the smell of Romanian stuffed peppers coming from the kitchen nor the candle lit dinner table. Alex smirks before grabbing his black leather jacket off the rack in the foyer. We grab and phones before rushing to the door. We're stopped by mom's yell from the living room. She rushes out and brings Alex and I into a hug although with her bigger belly it's kind of hard to get a real hug from her. She lets us go and takes dad's hand before walking us to the door. We smile before quickly exiting the house and jumping into Alex's car.

I turn to Alex with a smile. "You know mom and dad acted all weird when we left. It's like they were seeing us of to some college or something."

Alex shrugs as he flips through the radio stations. "Who knows sis. It could just be mom and her hormones, she is pregnant you know."

I sigh and glance out the window. "Yea I know she is. It's weird mom being pregnant and all."

"You think so? I mean I'm surprised we don't have twice as many more siblings as we do have, they can't keep their hands off each other."

I grimace and roll my eyes. "I so did not need that image in my head."

"I know. Look when we get to Katrina's we'll have to park at the end of her driveway so we can leave on time. Uh I know that your friends from the gym are going to be here so you can hang out with them. I'll be with Trina if you need me for anything. Or you could just text me or something."

I sigh and roll my eyes. "What is up with you? You're worrying more than mom and dad for some reason. I'll be fine, I've got my phone. If I need you I'll text you."

I sigh in relief as the car rolls to a stop. I swing my door open and sprint towards the door with Alex close behind me. With the loud music pulsing through the house we invite ourselves in. I shriek when I see Aubrey and Leanne. I turn to look at Alex and roll my eyes when I see his tall frame wrapped around Katrina. Somehow I have a feeling that this party isn't going to turn out as planned.

**AN2: I am switching POV's between Alex and Annabelle and trying to keep the Belov Family in character and involved. I'm also trying to hint at Payson/Sasha romance as well as toning down Sasha's temper. I got a few reviews that said he was...being a dick and I really just wanted him to be stern. So I'm hoping I'm doing better at getting in touch with Sasha's fatherly side. So please review and let me know what you think. **


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